


Alpha and the Akatsuki

by Intergalactic_Author



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alpha just wants to fight Madara, Angst, Canon deaths, Gen, Happy Akatsuki for as long as the plot allows, How many dead memes can you spot?, I don't want to click bait Narusasu but it's in the background, It'll be fine I promise, Its my first time writing them, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, OC lore/background when needed or when I wanted to make things dramatic, OC waitin' on the resurrection part of the war, Overpowered OC insert, She will turn the tides of the war, Spoiler Alert: it's Danzo, The akatsuki live in a comfortable hideout house because i say so, This is almost an everyone lives AU, blood tw, follows canon plot until Alpha says 'no we're not doing that', ooc in some parts, she doesn't take anyone's shit and she gets shit done
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:08:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 71,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24247024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Intergalactic_Author/pseuds/Intergalactic_Author
Summary: Alpha finds herself in the Naruto universe and decides it’s her new life goal to change fate.  Specifically the fate of the Akatsuki and any “unnecessary death” since she knows the events that will come. Alpha is surprised by friendships she didn’t expect to make and uses alliances and knowing fateful events to her advantage. She wants to put as big of a hole in Kabuto’s and Madara’s plans as she can before Kaguya shows up in the war.
Relationships: Deidara/Sasori (Naruto), Hidan/Kakuzu (Naruto), Hoshigaki Kisame/Uchiha Itachi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a coping mechanism for the lockdown but when it passed 50k words I decided I would post it because I enjoyed writing it and it made me happy knowing the Akatsuki members would have a happy ending, which I have written already. This is a long fic so strap yourselves in, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

“She changed her own fate.” 

“She will do everything in her power to do it again.”

Alpha felt the force of gravity as it woke her up. The wind rushed passed her and she opened her eyes. The sky was moving away from her too quickly. The sky’s shade of blue was too light to be any sky she’d seen before. She looked to the side just enough to see the horizon climb up into the sky.

She was falling.

She straightened her shoulders to not change her trajectory as she looked. She hated any type of crash landing but she was too close to the ground to land properly.

She turned so her feet were beneath her. The grassy plain approached a lot faster than she’d wanted. Her arms floated above her and kept her eyes on the ground.

A quick breath out, she let her upper body absorb most of the force of the impact by throwing her fists to the ground as her feet hit the ground. 

She managed to keep her balance as she felt the earth shifting beneath the grass as the force of the impact reached out from the epicenter.

She shifted onto her knees and breathed in. She leaned on one fist on the ground.

“That does not get easier.” It was all about timing and how fast the fall was. She missed her wings.

Alpha slowly stood up and felt… heels on her shoes?

She looked down at the black sandals that exposed most of her feet. The heel was high enough to irritate her. It was so impractical. Skin exposure would definitely get someone hurt in combat.

She appreciated the shorts and cropped tank that hung over her torso off her chest. The mesh top covering her torso was a little odd. What looked like a closed holster strapped on top of bandages on her mid thigh felt strange to her.

Anything on her legs other than the nanotech armor felt uncomfortable but if this is what was considered normal in this universe, she’d have to hold onto it. 

She flexed her hand and smiled as she watched her nails lengthen into claws. She still had her powers. She hesitantly tapped her shirt on her chest then grabbed at the area on her chest over her heart and her claws were met with normal skin. There was nothing there. She took a deep breath and then tapped her arm.

She sighed and let her shoulders relax. Any sort of break from that power was good enough for her.

She watched a gold ring expand out every time she tapped it. “Good. The nanotech is still working.” The rings faded and it returned to her pale skin color. She reached up to stretch and patted her hair that was still tied up.

She rested her hands on her head and let her arms hang as she looked up into the sky. A breeze brushed past her. Its warmth passed through her nanotech armor and she closed her eyes.

“Was this really where you intended for me to have a vacation?”

The purple eyes of her most recent mentor flashed across her memory.

Alpha had just travelled inter dimensionally for the first time and hadn’t thought about the landing location. This temporary life would be nice, something her mentor had hinted at. Without a deadline to be back, she could stay as long as she wanted.

Alpha assumed her mentor, Hexane, goddess of space, probably picked this place because it wouldn’t be completely boring while being away from home. 

She opened her eyes and saw two cloaked figures off in the distance. Black with red clouds. Triangular straw hats. One had a wrapped up sword that hung diagonally behind the taller person, Kisame. She could feel the gaze of the shorter person that would have to be Itachi.

It was oddly intense but the shinobi world was full of secrets and powers, maybe even powers that could rival her abilities. 

At least she wasn’t in a village. She smiled a little at the thought of probably being engaged in combat if she had landed in a village.

This wasn’t any less dangerous. Kisame was prone to fighting without much of a warning but Itachi’s Sharingan wasn’t something to underestimate.

Alpha wondered if his eyes were still degenerating, whenever this was in the timeline.

She lowered her arms behind her and patted the familiar sword sheath that contained her two swords. Both of which she grabbed hold of then released her grip when she felt her power flow into them like they’re supposed to.

If she needed them, she’d be good to go.

Her ear twitched at the sudden movement. The wind brushed past her as if a warning for what was to happen.

Alpha drew one sword and held it in front of her as Kisame’s blade crashed into hers. He pushed her back until she threw more force into the blade. She forced him to stop.

As she made eye contact with him, his glare turned furious. She put her other hand on the handle and smiled as the blade lit up. She watched his confident smile falter. 

Alpha took another step forward and pushed him away from her. She held her blade off to the side and watched him stumble.

She turned to Itachi and put her sword away. She glanced down at his hand as he pointed two fingers at her. She looked past them.

Even his lungs had started to fail.

She stood still to figure out how she would get close enough to heal him without Kisame trying to kill her.

Alpha huffed a laugh and watched his reaction, “That won’t work on me.” His scowl made her smile but she kept the eye contact. His hair framed his face and had lines going down his face diagonally from the inner corners of his eyes. She could see the damage the Sharingan was causing in his dark eyes. He used that power even though it hurt him, something she couldn’t quite understand.

She took a step forward and felt the distance close between them. She put her other foot down and lifted her hands to either side of his head. “Hold still” She said as the green aura moved from her hands to his head and engulfed his eyes. She made sure he didn’t have time to react. She kept the eye contact and looked through to the back of his eyes. She felt the warmth of her powers cover her own eyes. It reached down her cheeks.

This would be quick. This needed to be quick. This was very dangerous.

She heard Kisame tense up. The clank of metal and the sharp breath in let her know she had surprised him. Alpha felt the faint sensation of her hair falling on her shoulders as it relaxed from the sudden movement. She was happy she could still move quickly. She faintly smiled for a moment.

“What the…?” Kisame froze and watched the green aura cover his partner’s eyes. She wasn’t hurting him. Itachi would have reacted to her if she was hurting him.

Alpha pulled away from his head as his eyes healed completely. She kept the green aura around one hand and put it over his chest.

Itachi blinked several times and looked at Alpha clearly. “What did you do?”

“Are you able to see?” She focused on his lungs as he spoke. Shouldn’t they have medicine here? Maybe they couldn’t treat something like this.

She looked up at him. Her eyes looked at the sunlight reflecting off his necklace. His long hair was tied in a low pony tail and his mesh top was covered by a dark v-neck. His necklace was simple.

He looked at Kisame.

She felt his heart quicken for a moment. She put both hands over his lungs. Kisame’s voice distracted her.

“What?” Kisame spoke up and she noticed his sharp teeth. His voice was full of concern. She saw his inhuman features as he took off his hat. She looked at his eyes, they weren’t human but he was mostly human. She assumed he was mostly human. His dark blue gray hair spiked forward into a point and his facial features were strong but sharp.

Alpha took note that his skin was pale blue and he had gills on his cheeks that didn’t require water. She paused to take into account that _that_ was the weird thing here but definitely not the weirdest thing she’d ever seen.

“What are you doing?” He asked as he watched her. He put his hand on her arm.

She looked at his pale blue hand but didn’t look at him, “If you want me to damage his lungs further, go ahead. Try to stop me.” It covered half her forearm and she saw the metal ring on his ring finger. It had writing on the yellow part that she couldn’t read. 

He let go.

Alpha pulled one hand away from his chest and pulled out the diseased clumps of dead tissue in the aura. She turned her hand over and flattened out her hand, palm to the sky. The green aura turned into fire. It burned up the tissues and faded back to green aura.

“Breathe in,” She said as she felt his lungs expand about half way. It was probably out of habit. “All the way,” she continued and pulled her hands back as the rest of the breath was taken in quickly. The aura disappeared.

He let out a long deep breath and looked at her. He turned to Kisame and looked up. “I can see you clearly now,” his gentle tone took her off guard. He looked down a bit then turned to her, “What jutsu was that? Medical ninjutsu shouldn’t be that fast.” His voice resonated in his throat as the comment hung in the air.

She took a few steps back and held her hands up. “I don’t use jutsu,” she repeated the unfamiliar word as the green aura covered her hands again and she held them up. “It’s just something I can do.”

“How do you do it then?” Kisame’s tone reflected his anger. His hand shifted on the handle of the sword. “You shouldn’t be able to do something like that without using any hand signs.”

She looked at the sword “Do you really want to threaten me with that?”

“I’d love to.” He voice was low and angry. He spread out his stance.

She was all too familiar with that. But his legs were too far apart. His center of gravity would be too low. He should be bending one of them. Samehada intrigued her.

She shrugged and put her hands on her hips, “Anyway, I’m not from around here so I guess I’m intruding.” Her eyes landed on Itachi. He wasn’t facing her.

He kept looking around. At everything, even the grass. She could tell he was suppressing his excitement. He turned away from us and stared off at nothing in particular. He put his hand over his mouth and breathed. 

“Itachi are you okay?” Kisame’s tone had softened significantly, still ready to fight but also concerned. 

“Yeah,” he answered quietly. “I can see… things… again. And I can breathe without pain or coughing.”

“I also reinforced your eye muscles. I watched that eye power spin and that’s what strained your eye muscles in the first place. So, in theory, that eye power should be clearer too.” She explained and turned to where he stared.

Alpha would fit right in with the villains.

She knew she had a lot to explain and she knew she would have to eventually but she just wanted to enjoy the moment for a while. She was standing in the shinobi world with two of the most formidable villains known to those shinobi. 

She also knew when and how they would die.

But she was there so maybe it would change a bit. Not too much, she knew that, since it plays into the fate of this world and Tetra would kill her if she changed the future too.


	2. Friend or Foe

The sudden movement of the air told her that Kisame was moving. She jumped away from Itachi and saw that she had barely dodged Kisame’s sword. His movements were fast.

She widened her stance a little bit as she landed to brace for impact and held one hand up towards his bandaged sword as he swung it at her. She pushed the air with her other hand towards the first and held them together just in time for impact.

The sword slowed at it got closer to the palms of her hands. A deep sound pulsed rhythmically through the air. The sound continued to deepen and echo within itself until the sword stopped completely.

She looked up at him and saw the shock in his eyes. His body was still moving towards her. He was unable to stop.

She drew the hand closest to her back a little bit then pushed it forward. Her arm shook with the effort it took to push the gravity away from her. She pushed that hand beyond the other and sent him flying.

She straightened up and watched him tumble across the grass.

“I told you not to fight her until we knew she was harmless!” Itachi yelled as he ran to where Kisame stopped rolling.

She started to walk over to them. She watched his sword on the ground write in his hand. It made a noise that sounded like a mix between a growl and a chirp. It curled away from her.

Kisame looked at his sword, then her and then let it go. He sat up next to Itachi. “Watch her try to pick it up,” She heard Kisame whisper to Itachi.

“She wouldn’t” He whispered back.

She smiled and grabbed the wriggling handle.

It screeched and spikes shot out from the handle that pierced through her hand.

“You’re going to have to be more threatening than that to scare me.” She murmured to it and felt her energy leaving her body involuntarily. 

Immediately it relaxed and almost cooed at her. The spikes retracted and she lifted it up then leaned it on her shoulder. The infinite flow of the energy of the universe must be nice to take.

Kisame got up and didn’t know what to do.

She felt it crawl down her back and latch itself to her. Was it purring? She let go of the handle and it was definitely stuck to her. She watched Kisame walk over.

“Well I don’t want to keep it. I have enough swords. How do I get it off?” She asked. He walked behind her.

“I’m going to try to pull Samehada off of you,” Kisame said bluntly. He may have still been thinking about how to do it but he wanted his sword back. He grabbed the handle and pulled.

“Wait, Kisame.” Itachi waved. He was watching her reactions.

She looked at Itachi, “Why?”

“You’re in pain.”

“Yeah it’s the body’s natural reaction.” She replied, “I made the same face when I break a limb or I lose one in battle.” She shrugged, “It’s still going to hurt but I’m really okay.”

“What?” Itachi asked and gave her a mildly horrified look. 

“Alright.” Kisame said over Itachi and pulled again, though this time it was far more aggressive.

She felt it tear through her nanotech and take skin with it. “Did you get it?”

“Yeah,” Kisame commented he looked at his sword suspiciously. “You back looks…” He commented on how much skin it’d taken with it but it healed completely as he spoke.

“Good.” She breathed in and stood up straighter. She stretched her arms and felt her skin heal and switched arms to stretch the other set of muscles when she felt the nanotech reconnect over her back. “I assume it’s attracted to power,” she turned around to face him.

He fixed the bandaged parts that had gotten unraveled, put it back over his shoulder and into its sheath strap.

“Where are you from?” Kisame asked quickly. He didn’t look away from her.

“Like I said, I’m not from around here.” She half turned to him and leaned back slightly on her hips. Their eye contact was kept for too long for comfort.

“Then why are you here?” He asked instead and glared back at her.

“You don’t want to know my name first?” She asked.

“You’re in our territory.” Itachi commented, “Why are you here?” He sounded more curious than anything else. 

The breeze picked up again and tossed her hair a bit. “I don’t have any specific reason for being here, just that I am.” She stepped back again, “Sorry for being on your territory. When you’re not from here, it’s hard to know whose territory is whose.”

“So what is your name?” Itachi asked in a different tone than before. He faced us and created a wide circle.

She straightened up and allowed some of her dark gray aura to crawl across her skin from the scar on her side. It crawled up her body and over her arms. She spoke as it stretched across her hands and over her claws. She kept her hands on her hips in case Kisame decided to fight her again if she had moved her hands.

“My name is Alpha and I am the goddess of life and death.” She felt it burn as it crossed her face. She reached up for one of her swords and held it. “I always break the front lines and I have never lost a war.”

A few seconds of silence passed before Kisame’s condescending words hit her, “That’s a little excessive.” Of course he wouldn’t believe her.

She couldn’t track his thinking. She’d stopped the gravitational force of the swing of his sword and threw it back at him but thinks her introduction is excessive. She quickly made eye contact with him and lifted up her sword a few inches out of the sheath. As she lifted it up, she felt her power flow into it and knew that the orbs on the handle were glowing brighter. But, she pushed it back in. When it clicked back into place, a shockwave of power rushed across the ground from her feet. The grass turned black as the ripples of power passed over them.

Kisame took a step back from the force or fear, she couldn’t tell.

She lifted her arms to stretch then relaxed. The black that had crossed her skin retreated back to where it came from.

“But, you could say I’m retired.” She smiled, “I’m not doing any of that anymore.” She looked at both of them, “What are your names?” 

“Not doing what?” Kisame asked.

“I’m not doing war.” She replied. She put her hands on the back of her head and sighed, “I’m tired of it.” Her voice got quiet. “I’ve got nothing to fight for now so why bother?”

“Itachi,” he commented to change the subject. “And this is Kisame.”

“Why would you tell her?” Kisame demanded and looked down at Itachi. He got really irritated by that.

“Because you keep asking questions and not answering hers,” His comment cut the air. He quietly stared back at Itachi.

“Fine,” Kisame grumbled. “That doesn’t make her our new friend, Itachi.” He doesn’t trust her and he has every right to not trust her. He shifted on his feet and made the effort to lift his sword up enough to remind her it was there by instinct.

He looked behind me. “What do you want?”

“Konan says it’s time for tea now that you’re back,” Someone was definitely bouncing on the ground. His voice sounded like he was too. “Who’s this?”

“She’s new around here.” Itachi answered, “Her name is Alpha and she’s powerful.”

She turned to face this new person and was faced with an orange mask. “With a name like that, I’d hope so.” He stepped back half a step. He was in an all black outfit, he even had gloves on. 

“What’s your name?” Alpha asked for the purpose of formality. She had to be careful around Obito.

“That’s Tobi.” Itachi answered for him when he didn’t immediately respond. “He doesn’t take this job seriously because he isn’t on a team yet and doesn’t have to go do missions.”

“He does brighten the gloomy mood around here but sometimes it’s obnoxious,” Kisame said quickly only to have Itachi slap his chest. “Sorry,” He said quietly.

As if he didn’t hear it or was completely unbothered, Tobi spoke finally, “Come on!” He spun around and seemed to lead the way.

Alpha smiled. It was almost refreshing to be around someone like that. “We’re following you I suppose!” she jogged after him.

“Can she come with?” Kisame asked Itachi.

Itachi reached up and touched his face, “Yes.” Kisame closed his eyes. “I want to see what else she can do.”

“Alright, this has to be approved by Pain.” Kisame said quietly, “You know best but she’s hiding something.”

“Hiding what? More power?” Itachi commented quietly. “She healed me, Samehada attached to her and I don’t doubt she’s hiding something. But she healed me without even knowing who we are…” Itachi started walking without waiting for Kisame. “I want to see what else she can do. Come on, they’ll leave us behind.”

“We don’t have to walk with them,” He commented as he watched Alpha interact with Tobi.

Alpha caught up to Tobi and put her arm around him.

The two walked after them.

“Tell me why you wear the mask!” Alpha laughed out the words and tightened her arm around his neck. She flexed her muscles in the process and held onto her fist with her other hand. She almost lifted him off the ground. 

“No never!” He wrapped his legs around her and put his hands on her arm.

She loosened her grip mostly because he was choking, “Sorry.” She walked a few steps then let him go completely. She threw her arms up but he wouldn’t let go. “I let go so you let go.” 

“Why is your name Alpha?” He asked.

“Knock it off Tobi.” Kisame yelled as they caught up.

He let go and fell onto the ground. He jumped up and walked beside her. “So why is your name Alpha?” He was blatantly ignoring Kisame and she wondered why. 

She wrapped her arm around his neck again but it wasn’t as tight. She dragged him with her as she turned around, “Hey! He’s cute! I’m gonna keep him!”

“Okay!” Itachi yelled back.

“Good luck!” Kisame yelled.

“Aw you guys are so mean!” Tobi said as he got out of her grip. “We’re almost there!” He ran ahead of us and stopped in the middle of the path. “Itachi you do it, I don’t know the password yet.” Tobi swung his arms towards something and then hopped out of the way.

Itachi walked past us and probably used the Sharingan to break the barrier.

A moderately sized house in front of a hill appeared. It had a simple front but looked big enough. There was a large window on both sides of the door. The far corner of the house faced the field. There were trees all around it and created a small forest.

Tobi ran to the door and fumbled it open. He ran inside, paused to take off his shoes and left them in the entry way. He stepped up onto the main floor and she heard him yell for Konan.

Alpha walked inside and waited for her eyes to adjust from the sunlight. It wasn’t too much dimmer but she still needed to blink a few times. Artificial light was always so different from natural sunlight even though it was partially natural light.

She took off her shoes and stepped onto the hardwood floor. She looked around at the large open room.

There was a large dining table near her, the kitchen to the left and the larger living room area with a couple couches to sit in. The couches framed a kotatsu in the middle of the floor. It was pretty bare but there were flowers vases in a few places. There was a fireplace on the far wall crackling away at the wood inside. The ceiling was tall too, she noticed as she looked around.

Tobi was talking to a woman with short dark lavender hair in the kitchen.

“No,” She told him and she turned to look at Alpha. Her gaze turned from neutral to surprised, “Welcome,” She brought a teapot over to the bar counter and set it down next to cups. 

Kisame walked by us with Itachi’s cloak. He was not wearing a shirt under his cloak. His broad shoulders impressed her.

Alpha looked at the tea as Itachi handed it to her. The recruitment habit was a hard habit to get rid of. He poured tea for himself and Kisame. He was wearing a dark shirt and loose fitting dark pants. She walked to the couch and sat down on one end.

“She’d be a good ally.” He quietly whispered to Konan at the end of their conversation and then joined Alpha on the couch. Kisame returned and slowly sat down next to Itachi then took the tea from him.

Alpha noticed Itachi had leaned into Kisame just enough that he could still drink his tea. Kisame put his arm over the back of the couch.

Tobi sat with his tea on the couch across from us. He slid his mask to the side to drink from the cup.

It was a peaceful quiet. Not an awkward quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote part of this chapter twice and kept this version to showcase her powers as the chapters go by rather than show them right at the beginning. She doesn't hate Tobi, she just doesn't trust him.


	3. Flowers for Peace

Alpha closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet scent of the tea. She felt the warmth of her green aura cover her hands.

“Woah!” Tobi said excitedly. “You’re growing flowers out of your arms.”

Alpha opened her eyes and reached for them with one hand. They were growing out of the aura, actually. They always did. She’ll grow these kinds of flowers with her aura when she’s calm. Moments she didn’t get very often. 

She held a handful of white and yellow flowers. The centers were light purple and had stripes of black on the petals.

Konan walked over. “I don’t recognize those at all.”

“These are from my home.” Alpha handed them to her. “I grow them when I’m calm. They really bloom in the moonlight.”

“You just. Grow them?” Konan repeated Alpha’s words but grabbed the flowers from her. They bloomed a bit more in Konan’s hands. She smiled sweetly, “Aww,” She put them to her face. “That is calming.”

“Yeah, they’re nice for stressful times.” Alpha commented.

Someone tall with orange hair wearing his cloak walked out from the shadows of the hallway close to them. That was Pain but she didn’t know which one. He paused at the end of the hallway and whispered to Konan as she passed him. She looked back at Alpha then pushed the flowers more into his face. He smiled as she pulled them away and looked at Alpha.

“We don’t normally have guests,” he paused and looked at Itachi, “But Itachi’s judgment is flawless so as long as you don’t interfere with our plans, you can stay.” his decision sounded hurried but Konan hasn’t smiled like this in years. He could feel her power through his link to Pain. Nagato needed more time to figure her out.

“She isn’t a fan of war anyway so she really won’t get involved.” Itachi commented for her. Konan put a flower in his hair and walked down the hall. “Play nice.”

“Why don’t you like war?” Pain turned from Konan to Alpha.

“He’s the leader of our group so you should answer honestly.” Kisame looked at her.

“It’s because I’m retired.” She spoke without any reservations.

She felt the presence of other members of this group stir from the other hallway. There were a few others down that way too. They’d show themselves soon.

“Why are you retired?” Pain asked and couldn’t wait for this answer. It almost made him laugh. 

Alpha thought carefully before she answered. She leaned back on the couch and faced him, “War is just a grudge match between leaders and they use their citizens for their army and it’s the civilians that pay for it with their lives.” She paused, “plus there are only so many wars you can be in before it feels repetitive and gets boring.”

Another member of the group walked in as if her words had summoned Hidan. He was tall, muscular and had slicked back short silver hair. His pale purple eyes landed on her quickly. He wore a similar outfit to the others but wasn’t wearing a shirt and the lighting cast shadows over his muscular build and reflected off the necklace he wore. It was a circle with a triangle in it. “What do you mean killing people can get boring?” he sat down on the other couch on the other side of the living room. “Did you ever enjoy it?” he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. The blood lust in his facial expression did not scare her.

She turned and leaned forward too and moved her claws as she talked. “Did I ever enjoy ripping through skin and feeling the blood run down my arm as I lifted the dying body into the air before throwing it aside and feeling my claws shred their organs as I threw it and feeling their dying breath as if it was my own before they hit the ground?” she looked down at her claws and described one of the worst wars she’d ever been in. It wasn’t top three but it was bloody. “Maybe. But that, too, gets boring.” She stopped and kept a straight face. “When your kill rate has always been at 100%, war becomes redundant.” She leaned back and kept eye contact with him. He looked like he was really enjoying the conversation, but he really had no idea what war was. “Judging by your reaction I’d say that your kill rate is far below mine.”

She enjoyed that her comment angered him so much that he didn’t know what to say. He leaned back into the couch.

Kisame chuckled into his tea cup.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Itachi had turned to Kisame and covered his own mouth with his hand. His body shaking slightly as he tried to cover up his laughter.

“I really hope she gets to stay,” Itachi whispered. Hidan glared at Itachi and was about to shout.

Another, taller person came out from the hallway, Kakuzu. He was beefier than Hidan. He had darker skin that almost looked unnatural and had lines of stitches all over his body. She saw the tattoo bands on his wrists as he raised one onto Hidan’s shoulder.

The most notable stitches were on his face that stitched together his sliced cheeks that start at the edge of his mouth. His long dark hair covered his shoulders and part of it fell in front of his face. He slapped Hidan on the back, “She knows what she’s talking about.”

Alpha wondered how he got those scars but then decides its best not to ask. He had hit Hidan pretty hard. She’d heard his spine pop and then he whined about it. 

“Hidan is on the couch, Kakuzu is behind him.” Itachi whispered. Alpha nodded. 

Kakuzu’s dark green eyes hit her fairly hard. His sclera was dark gray. It was odd to look at but still not the weirdest thing she’d ever seen. It just made his eyes more prominent against his skin.

“Who’s she?” He looked at the leader behind us, his hand rested on Hidan’s shoulder. “We don’t allow guests.”

“She’s staying,” Pain defended her.

Itachi leaned over to Alpha again, “He’s in charge of the finances so he’s probably thinking about how much you being here is going to cost us.”

Kakuzu kept his eye contact with Alpha. She breathed in and straightened up. She slowly breathed out, “I forget money is important... in other… places.” She counted on her hands with her fingers. “I can’t remember the last time I used or needed money.”

Kakuzu lifts his finger at her.

“That’s blasphemy!” Hidan yelled at her.

Alpha put her hands up. “Where I’m from,” She pointed up, “in space, trade deals worked through different civilizations on different planets that don’t use the same currency, nor was there a way to convert it,” She counted on one hand, “The organization I used to work for started to use trade deals, power for protection, weapons, treaties, empty peace promises and war to maintain their economy.” Alpha answered before he asked. “No one needed money. Everything was taken care of already.”

“What kind of weapons?” Tobi asked. He sat at the edge of his seat and watched her.

She kept very quiet, glanced down at her cooling tea then made eye contact with him, “Me.” Her voice was too cold for Tobi. He leaned back as she answered with a smile.

“No wonder you retired,” Itachi said sympathetically.

She sighed heavily. “The praise and recognition and attention was great, don’t get me wrong, but when it eventually meant losing everything I had, I couldn’t handle it anymore.” She breathed in deeply and breathed out some blue fire. It wafted over her arms and then faded away, “So I left, which also means I’m retired too.”

“Let’s change the subject,” A blonde ran in with something white in his hands. Deidara.

He was wearing a crop top over a fishnet shirt and pants. His thick blonde hair was long and down and was surprisingly pretty. A section of it covered his left eye which left his right blue eye to see the world. 

“You guys should check this out!” He shouted as he tossed something onto the table. It started to expand and Alpha heard everyone yell and panic. 

“Not in the house Deidara!” Pain shouted as it flew through the air.

Deidara held two fingers to his lips then smiled.

Alpha put her hands up towards it and made a light purple barrier around it. She held it in the barrier to look at it. It was white and shaped like a spider. She was actually kind of fascinated by it.

It exploded in the barrier and she jumped a little. Though she watched as the light expanded out and felt the pressure of the explosion from within it. 

The purple barrier faded and some smoke rose to the ceiling.

“That was really cool,” Alpha spoke quietly and smiled a little. It wasn’t equivalent to blowing up a ship in orbit and landing on the planet with just enough time to not get crushed by it as it hit the ground and exploded. But it was an explosion regardless. She did miss that kind of thing.

“Thank you,” Pain said with relief. “He already blows everything up.”

“That sounds chaotic.” Alpha commented but was also amused by it. They just let him do it. It must be his weapon of choice. 

“You have no idea” Kisame said and lowered his arms from around Itachi. But his arms lingered around him. 

“No explosion,” Hidan opened his eyes and Kakuzu stood up from behind his chair. “You’re immortal too! You don’t need to hide behind me!” Kakuzu stood up to glare at Hidan but didn’t comment. 

Alpha suppressed a laugh and turns to Itachi, “How did he make the group?” She whispered to antagonize Deidara.

“What are you whispering about over there!?” Deidara screamed and pointed at her. He was clearly upset it didn’t explode like he wanted it to. 

She smiled and looked at him. “I was just commenting about how weak that explosion was.” “I’m not allowed to do a full sized explosion anywhere near here!” Deidara screamed back and clearly upset.

She kept her smile and nodded once.

Kisame laughed and smiled enough to expose his teeth. He turned to Pain who had gone to the kitchen. “Thanks for letting her stay!” He looked at Deidara and smiled, “This’ll be fun.”

He pointed at Kisame, “You just don’t appreciate my art!”

Alpha took a breath and her dominating voice grabbed everyone’s attention. “When your art threatens the lives of those around you, no one will appreciate your ‘art’,” formed air quotes with her fingers as she spoke. She maintained her glare, “if you really want to impress me with your art, you’ll have to do better than that.”

He seemed shocked but then smiled, “Okay I will!” He turned to leave down the second hallway that he had come in from. 

“That was almost nice,” Kisame observed.

“He is just a kid and shouldn’t be discouraged. If he’s discouraged too much, it may destroy his confidence then he’ll feel underappreciated for something he’s passionate about. Then he’ll never get better at it.” Alpha replied. 

“Where will she be staying?” Konan asked Pain as she returned.

“She can stay with us,” Itachi answered. “Rather than take up a whole room.” He didn’t want to risk contact between her and Tobi.

“Yeah, that should be fine,” Kisame agreed and looked at her. “I guess.”

It surprised Alpha a little. “Is it?” Alpha asked, “I don’t really sleep, but okay.” She smiled and leaned into the back of the couch.

“You’ll need somewhere to have for yourself.” Itachi’s comment got Alpha to nod in agreement

“I can show you around,” Konan offered. Alpha stood up quickly, “Okay,” she followed Konan. She left her cup on the counter by the kitchen.

“We all have our own rooms down this hall. It connects back to the living room.” They passed a few rooms down the hallway. “At this point, they’re mostly used for storage since some of us paired off and share rooms. It’s cheaper that way too. After a while we also spread everyone out to have rooms separating where we were sleeping. Nights can be loud sometimes.” She explained, “Sasori, for example, needs his own room for his tools and what he works with. Deidara has his own room too but he’s usually hanging out with Sasori when he isn’t working on his own explosives. You’ll meet Sasori later, I’m sure.” 

She stopped at a door down the hall from the bedroom doors. “In here is the garden,” she opened the door to a green house. It was very large and they grew all kinds of plants.

Alpha walked right in, ahead of Konan. She felt calm as the green aura covered her hands as she brushed past the first few sections of plants. She whispered to them, “how are you doing?” and the plants wiggled faintly and talk back to her in tiny whispers. “That’s good.” She smiled and listened again then looked at Konan. “Some of these are toxic.” She looked around at all the plants laid out on the several rows of tables. She walked further into the rows of plants. Most of them were herbs but she assumed there were also food plants in there too.

The glass ceiling let in filtered light and she could see the tops of trees towards the back of the garden. Konan spoke up, “I come here to get away from the chaos. They’re all pretty chaotic, if you couldn’t already tell.” Konan walked past her and sat on a bench beneath an arch of vines. There was enough room for Alpha to sit next to her.

When she did, Konan held her arms up and layers of paper peeled off and turned it into a large paper flower. “You probably know this but peace is hard to get,” her voice trailed off.

Alpha smiled at the paper flower and held it when Konan handed it to her. She spoke thoughtfully and seriously, “You almost have to abandon everything, including emotions towards conflict, to gain peace. But what you want internal peace rather than attempting to stop future wars. There will always be conflict wherever there’s a power imbalance.”

Alpha spoke from experience. She picked up on Konan’s sadness. “It was said that I would stop all wars and for years I trained to be powerful and slowly became this...” she gestured at herself, “…goddess-like monster, someone so powerful that I didn’t have a rival or anyone nearly powerful enough to withstand a fight against me.” She paused and looked up.

She let the flower rest in her lap. “I was unstoppable and I won every war, every battle I was in. I had been told that through these wins we would run out of war to be a part of but all of it had been a lie. It was always about power and, like I said before, I left everything I had to achieve this peace I wanted.”

“So through leaving do you think you stopped wars?” Konan turned to her, hoping to understand her reasoning.

“I want to believe that, yes. Without their most powerful weapon they don’t have leverage to start conflict but under their new Chief, tensions should be lessened.” Alpha held one of her palms over the grass and grew various colorful flowers. They spread over the arch as she moved her hand over them. The flowers grew on some trees and left a trail to the door. “They’ll glow in the moonlight like the ones I gave you before.”

“Your peace flowers? They’ll create peace for me?” Konan asked and looked at them.

“If you let them,” Alpha answered. “I’m sure they will.” 

Pain opened the door and stopped in the doorway when he saw the flowers. He looked up and saw Konan smile as she spoke to Alpha.

He walked over quietly and processed things as he walked. “Goddess of life and death indeed,” He said. “You mastered both I assume. The way you talk about war makes me believe that you truly want peace.”

“Can she stay for good, Nagato?” Konan spoke to the person behind the mask of Pain.

He looked at Alpha, “We’ll see. She fits in but won’t want to follow through with our mission. Nor is she capable of helping since she can’t use chakra.” He paused and looked like he was thinking.

“But I can distract anyone who interferes.” Alpha brought up, “Whatever you need.”

“That helps a lot actually.” Pain commented then nodded his head. He looked at Konan then back at her. “Like everyone here, you’ll need to show us what you’ve got and how you do with your powers. It won’t be disappointing based on how much bragging you’ve done. I’m sure there’s more to that thing you did when you breathed fire through your nose.”

Alpha looked a little surprised. She would be useful again. “Who would I go up against?” She thought about the members she’d met already. Who was really able to withstand her attacks? She could hurt them all fairly easily. 

“Itachi,” Pain answered quickly, “Since he’s so intent on keeping you around.”

“Is that smart? His Sharingan won’t work on her.” Konan debated, fell quiet then understood. “But you’re thinking about the fire.”

Pain nodded. “After that we’ll get you a cloak and Konan will help you from there.”

“We have a lot of spares.” Konan smiled and turned to Alpha more. “We’ve learned that they’re easy to destroy in a battle so we made a bunch of them.”

Alpha nodded. “Oh so it’s a sparring match then.”

Pain nodded and continued, “I’ll inform Itachi.” He turned around to leave. He walked carefully over the flowers that had bloomed on the ground. After the door had shut, Konan got worried. “You can do more than just blow flames out of your nose right? Itachi is the best fire jutsu user around,” Konan warned her.

“I’ll be fine,” Alpha reassured her. “I just do that when I get angry so I don’t lash out with something more dangerous. But if you’re really just asking me to show off, I’ll give you a show worth watching.” She got up and held the door open for Konan. She had to decide how little power to use.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to attempt a regular upload schedule since I have so much written already. It'll be more about remembering to upload rather than remembering to write a new chapter.


	4. Understanding Your Limits

Konan followed her and closed the door. She paused next to Alpha and looked down the hall with her as they heard Kisame yell.

“What? Right now? He hasn’t recovered from our last mission yet!”

“He’s very protective of Itachi,” Alpha turned to whisper to her. 

“They’re dating but won’t announce it.” Konan whispered back. “But we all know that they are.”

“That’s understandable,” Alpha felt happy for them. Secrets are what they are, and Alpha had plenty of her own. “It’s kind of obvious… The way Kisame protects him…”

Konan’s voice returned to normal and spoke while we past their room. “It’s just a sparring round. You’re not meant to kill anyone. It’s also not our usual way of scouting out a new member but it’ll work in this instance.”

Alpha looked at Itachi and Kisame sitting on their futons on the floor as she passed their room. The two were looking at Pain but Itachi glanced at her as she walked by at the same time that Pain continued to speak.

Kisame’s arm tightened around Itachi’s waist. He looked angry and stressed and kept his eyes on Pain. 

“You will not interfere with this, Kisame.” Pain said as we passed the door. 

“Oh, I healed his eyes,” Alpha commented happily as Konan led her through the living room and down the other hallway.

Alpha sensed Kakuzu and Hidan behind one door as they passed it. Konan paused to point at it. “They’re why we spread everyone out.”

“We can hear you!” Hidan shouted from behind the closed door.

“Yeah!” Deidara yelled from behind his across the hall. “We can hear you just fine too!”

The walls were thin and even with the doors closed they could yell at each other.

Konan smiled and walked past the room Deidara and Sasori were in.

Deidara slid his door open angrily. He made eye contact with Alpha as she walked by.

Alpha kept pace with Konan even when she looked down out of the corner of her eye at Deidara as he stood in his doorway.

The anger in his blue eye shifted from anger to a mixture of fear and intimidation as he looked at up at her. He shrank back into his room and quickly shut the door. Sasori, she assumed, asked “what?” and Deidara’s response was too quiet to hear.

“Do you regret it? He’ll be more powerful since he can see clearly now.” Konan asked and stopped in front of a door towards the end of the hall. It had steel reinforcement around the frame. She opened it slowly and revealed a very large sparring room.

Alpha looked around at the large concrete room. The scars on the walls drew her eye and there were black explosion marks further away from the door. Other than the markings, the room was bare.

“No I don’t, but we’ll have to go outside,” Alpha said immediately as she scanned the room for weak points. She reached to the buckles that kept her sword sheath on her back and pinched them so it would come off. It slid down her arm and she caught it with one hand then put it down to lean it on the wall. She looked at Konan, “This isn’t big enough.”

“Its fine I’m sure,” Konan said as she entered the room and watched her. “It works for us.” 

“What’s on the other side of that wall?” Alpha asked while she looked at the wall opposite to the house. She stretched her arms over her head and walked toward it. She lowered her arms and held her right arm to her side and out slightly, palm held out to the wall. 

“A field, so if you two destroy a wall, it should be…” Konan started and watched the door open but turned to Alpha when she felt heat.

Alpha held a fireball in her hand. She smiled as the fire concentrated into a blue blaze that engulfed her arm and started to run toward the wall. She used her left arm to guide her right hand and moved to throw the fireball. She twisted her body back then jumped into the air and threw the fireball at the wall. Her right leg moved forward as she twisted in the air to brace for the landing.

“…that one…” Konan said as the fireball made contact with the wall.

Alpha threw her hands on top of each other and pushed them toward the ground. That movement was followed by a wave of dark purple energy. She skidded to a halt and knelt down on her toes as the barrier expanded across the room. 

As the wall exploded, parts of it flew back and made contact with the barrier which caused purple ripples to expand across its surface. She watched them fall to the floor and looked down as the sunlight hit her while the wall fell apart.

“If this is going to be a sparring match,” She commented as she stood up. “I need room to divert my powers so they don’t hit at full strength.” She turned and put her left hand on her right shoulder and moved that arm in a circle to do the warm up she should have done a moment ago. She lowered her arms. The barrier disappeared and the dust moved with the breeze that came in. She leaned on one hip and smiled. She heard her voice echo.

Itachi and Kisame had gathered near Konan and Kisame looked pissed. He stood in front of Itachi with his arm out to guard him.

Alpha could hear the anger in his breath as he exhaled. She looked at him and dropped her smile.

“What exploded?” Deidara ran in and stopped. He stared at the wall. “And I missed it?” His frustration echoed across the room. 

Sasori walked in and stood next to Deidara. He looekd at the destruction as Deidara shouted.

“I am not paying for a new wall.” Kakuzu spoke as he walked in. His shoulders slumped as he looked around at the broken wall and glared at Alpha. Hidan walked in behind him and stared at her too.

Alpha kept her gaze on Kisame, “It’s a sparring match, Kisame.” Alpha spoke directly to him. Her voice echoed and drowned out Deidara’s exclamation in the now open room. 

“Why was it blue?” Itachi asked and stepped away from Kisame. He stood confidently and waited for her answer.

“Fire turns blue when it gets hotter,” Alpha answered then turned and walked over the chunks of the wall.

Itachi turned to Pain, “She’ll kill me. I can’t use fire like that.” He rested one hand on Kisame’s arm when he rested it around his shoulders.

“No she won’t.” Pain promised and walked over to Konan. “She knows it’s a sparring match and we have no other way of seeing her powers without giving away where we’re located.” He leaned to her, “She knows she has to fix that right?” 

“She should spar with me,” Kisame spoke to Pain directly and took a step forward. 

“Itachi insisted she stay so he is her sparring partner. My decision is final.” Pain said and looked at him, “She understands it’s a sparring match. She wants to join us, you know.”

“That’s reassuring.” Itachi mumbled and looked at Alpha as she started to walk out of the room onto the grass outside. “She’s just going to use fire?” He noticed the scars on her back as she walked into the sunlight. They sat on either side of her spine and stretched from her shoulder blades to her mid back. She rested her hands behind her neck and straightened up. He saw that she closed her eyes as she faced the sun. 

“She plans to show off her fire power so we can agree that she can stay,” Konan answered.

“Alright,” Itachi finally stopped trying to delay things. “If it gets too dangerous…”

“We’ll intervene,” Pain spoke first. “But she won’t let it get too dangerous.” He wanted to encourage them all but really had no idea if she would do so. However, she knows the range of her powers, even for a sparring match. He looked around at the rubble and walked through it with everyone else who wanted to watch.

Itachi took in a deep breath of air in an attempt to calm himself down. He’d left his cloak in his room and regretted it. He won’t be able to hide movements from her. He looked at her swords as they leaned on the wall.

“Maybe she really does know it’s a sparring match.” He mumbled to himself as he looked up at her again.

He began to walk outside. Kisame led him across the rubble. 

Alpha stood in the field and held her arms up behind her neck as she waited for him. She decided to just deflect whatever he threw at her.

She watched some birds fly around and enjoyed the heat from the sun.

Itachi walked out to meet her. He glanced back at Kisame as he stopped to watch with everyone else as they gathered at the edge of the room. 

She turned to him as he walked up to her, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You’ll just outclass me. That’s all.” Itachi responded. “You were able to stop and throw Kisame back like it was nothing…” 

She concluded that he was worried or scared, “Pain decided to have you spar with me since you insisted I stay and he wants to see how I use fire.” Alpha took a step back. “That’s all this sparring match is going to be.” She jumped back, flipped in the air and landed on the field further away. She watched him and looked at Pain when she heard his voice. 

“The only rule is to not kill each other!” Pain shouted. “Start when you’re ready!”

Alpha waited for Itachi to move. She watched him jump back and land quite a distance away like she had. 

She focused on him and saw hand signs. When he put two fingers near his mouth, she gathered heat in her abdomen and waited for it to build before breathing air out through her nose. She felt it move up her throat.

He had started for form a large fireball that expanded after a moment. His Sharingan eyes widened just enough to express his surprise. He wasn’t used to this much range in his power. It’d been a long time since he could put this much chakra into his fireball. She had given him an advantage he didn't realize he had. 

Alpha smiled and shook her head as she watched it form. She had absolutely no regrets about healing his lungs.

At least this wouldn’t be completely one sided and Pain would get the show he wanted to see. 

Alpha moved her feet shoulder width apart and braced herself. She could feel the heat burn through her throat and knew what it looked like.

She’d watched this one time. The heat created a glow that formed barred sections on the skin as it moved up through her chest and neck. It gathered at the back of her mouth and she watched the fireball fly towards her.

She took a deep breath in and forced out a sharp breath that created the pressure she needed. She watched her stream of heat fly towards the fireball. When it made contact she breathed out harder and caused it to turn blue.

The fireball’s momentum slowed and she held her right hand over her torso and moved it upwards. She held it open and under her jaw as if to hold something that wasn’t there. As she moved her hand she opened her mouth and forced out the remainder of her breath. A stronger, hotter blast of fire turned blue as it reached the fireball. 

It shot to the fireball and it forced it to spin in place. The yellow and orange fire quickly turned bright blue. The added pressure gathered in its center where Alpha’s stream of fire hit. As powers clashed, the fire started to get out of control and exploded a moment later.

Alpha lowered her arm and stood up straight as she watched it as it exploded. She held her palm up to the sky then moved her fingers towards her.

A breeze picked up from behind Itachi and moved the fire towards Alpha. She shifted her body sideways to face the audience and lifted her back heel up to brace herself. She held up her right hand and let the fire hit it.

She was forced into a squat on her back leg but pushed up to counter the energy in the explosion. Her left hand moved in a small circle counter clockwise and the fire formed a spiral. She pushed it upwards and into the sky. It faded away as it reached over the tree tops. The small tornado tore the fire apart.

Alpha lowered her arms and watched the sky for a moment before she focused on Itachi.

It was very silent except for the sounds of the birds. There was no reaction from anyone.

They had just witnessed something they’d never seen before she had assumed. She kept her eyes on Itachi. She waited for him to move but he kept his eyes on the sky where the fire had disappeared. 

The silence was broken by Pain’s words, “Welcome to the Akatsuki.” He sounded relieved and happy and maybe a bit horrified. 

Konan leaned into Pain, “she barely moved and she protected him from the flames.”

“I’ll get a cloak,” Pain said quietly before he left to go inside.

Itachi still hadn’t moved but deactivated his Sharingan. He blinked and expected his vision to be blurry. But it wasn't. He didn't feel any pain from it either.

Alpha moved to him and felt her feet skid a little bit on the grass. Her hair moved beyond her shoulders and rested on the side of her chest after she stopped a few feet from him. 

He gasped in surprise. “How do you do that?”

“I don’t know, I just move.” She answered. “It was a part of my training to be faster than the enemy can think.”

He spoke thoughtfully, “You really didn’t let me get hurt though that easily could have happened.”

She heard heavy footsteps running towards them. 

“It was just a sparring match.” Alpha responded and took a step back as Kisame slowed to a stop.

“Are you really okay?” He grabbed Itachi’s shoulders and looked for burns. 

“That was so cool!” Tobi yelled as he ran over, his arms in the air as he ran. “I’ve never seen anything like that!” His arms swung towards the sky and he refused to run in a straight line.

She threw her arm around his neck as he got close enough and hugged him. “Thanks! It just takes practice!” She let him go after a moment. Her gaze lingered on Tobi’s mask.

This was not a gaze of any degree of affection. It was a gaze of knowing.

He was silent for almost too long and then fell to the ground face first, “Please be my senpai and teach me your ways.”

She looked down at him, “I don’t take on apprentices.” Alpha responded. “Can you even make a fireball?”

“Yeah, what can you do besides be annoying?” Deidara asked and pushed Tobi with his foot.

Tobi jumped up. “Not yet! But I want to learn!” He yelled to Deidara and looked at Alpha, “Please?”

Alpha sighed. She knew he wouldn’t just leave her alone, “Fine.”

Tobi put his hands together and said, “Really?” in an excited voice.

“It’ll be the toughest training you’ve ever experienced.” Alpha said in a deeper, deadpan voice. “My apprentices quit or fail before completing my training program. Only one completed my training.”

“Why’s that?” Tobi asked and tilted his head. “I’m not weak. I’m a member of the Akatsuki.”

“That may be true but if you don’t have control over your weaknesses, you will fail my training.” She responded. “The first step is to determine what those weaknesses are and work through them until you don’t have any. That’s when my apprentices fail. They are always unable to face their demons, their past, whatever they’re running from.

“What are my weaknesses?” he asked in a slightly serious tone.

“When I know what they are, I’ll be able to exploit them.” Alpha responded with a happier tone. “So it’ll be better if you figure them out first.”

“What are your weaknesses?” Tobi asked Alpha. “So I can use them against you.”

“That’s not part of this training. Besides, you will die before you figure them out.” Alpha responded quickly.

“Enough of that Tobi,” Pain and Konan came over with a cloak. “This is yours now. Try not to destroy it.” Pain spoke to her and handed the black cloak to her.

“I can get you the rest of our uniform when we get back inside.” Konan commented as Alpha grabbed the cloak.

She held it up in front of her and then put it on. She zipped it up until it had to be put together with magnets. It felt heavier than it looked, but she was used to ultra lightweight nanotech. The collar distorted her field of vision even though it barely came up to her cheeks. She couldn’t see below her in her peripheral. She opened it and pulled the zipper down a little. 

She started to walk back inside the room and moved fast enough that the bottom of the cloak flowed behind her.

“That was too stressful. I hated that. I’m going to lie down.” Kisame commented as Alpha left the group. With Itachi in tow they walked back across the field and inside the sparring room followed by the rest of the Akatsuki.

“We’ll take the rest of today off and meet tomorrow to make sure you’ve all done your part.” Pain told them before vanishing.

Inside the sparring room Alpha had put on her sword sheath under the cloak. She rolled her shoulders and relaxed and then decided that it was doable for now. She looked up to see that everyone else had entered the room and got over the rubble.

Kisame passed her with Itachi who tried not to trip but Kisame lifted him up and carried him over the rubble while Itachi held onto his arm. He walked inside and turned down the hall.

Alpha put one hand on the wall beside her as she leaned back on it. An orange aura floated off her skin into a cloud. It seeped into the concrete and created trails on the floor as it moved toward the pile of rubble and across the walls.

She patted the walls twice and the glow of the organge aura grew more intense until the rubble started moving.

Konan watched the aura then Alpha then turned to watch the wall get fixed behind a layer of orange. “That explains why you just broke the wall down without asking or talking about it.”

“I’ll fix what I break.” Alpha told her as the wall closed them off from the outside.

“At least someone does that,” Kakuzu spoke and looked at Deidara then walked back inside. Hidan followed him.

Sasori held onto Diedara's arm and led him inside. 

Tobi glanced at Alpha before he walked inside. She had turned to Konan and didn’t see him. He followed the rest of the group down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally, I'm a sucker for a good pun. The title of this chapter refers back to what Itachi said to Sasuke about "testing his limits".


	5. Alpha's New Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long paragraphs in this chapter. I'm not sure how to get around that without taking out information about Alpha's background.

Alpha straightened up and looked at Konan. “So the rest of my uniform…”

Konan looked behind Alpha while she turned her head just enough to use her peripheral.

Tobi had glanced her as he walked inside. 

“Oh yes, follow me.” Konan looked at Alpha and spoke in her sweet tone but spoke quickly then led her inside.

Alpha closed the door behind her and heard the others whisper about what just happened as they walked down the hallways.

Sasori told Deidara to just stay out of her way until they knew more about her. Kakuzu commented about not excluding her from things and to talk to her if she has questions since she is one of them now. They all gathered in Hidan and Kakuzu’s room.

Konan opened the door to a large closet looking room. “We keep everything in here.” Along the walls were sections of cloaks and tops then pants of varying sizes and lengths. The shoes were displayed on shelves on the floor. “I recommend the mesh top under a regular shirt.” She walked over to the shoes and opened a drawer. “In here are the white stirrup socks that go over our shoes. I don’t wear them because they are uncomfortable for me.”

“They’re a defining uniform piece like the cloak?” Alpha asked. 

“Yeah, they’re a personal choice that Nagato made so we keep them.” Konan answered. “I’ll let you figure it out.”

Alpha took off the cloak and unbuckled her sheath.

Konan noticed the massive scars on her back between her shoulders and her spine on either side that were exposed by the shirt.

“What are those scars from?” Konan asked and had paused in her movement to leave. 

Without turning to her Alpha answered quietly, “That’s where my wings were.” She lifted up her arm and pointed to her back. “I always wore shirts like this so my wings had the freedom to move but now…”

“It’s just a habit then?” Konan knew not to talk about it too much judging by how Alpha reacted to the question.

“Yeah,” Alpha answered quietly and moved to sort through pants.

Konan turned to leave and wondered how long it’d been since Alpha had lost her wings. A faint yellow glow distracted her. She turned around and saw Alpha wearing the uniform.

“What do you think?” Alpha said as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like they did. Her pants went into the socks that went over the shoes she now had on. 

“That’ll work.” Konan replied. “You can take a few sets to hang out in and for sparring.” She opened a different drawer and watched Alpha this time.

Alpha’s body glowed yellow and when the light faded she was wearing a looser version of the uniform. She bent down to fold the cloak and grabbed her sheath too. 

“You just glow and things happen?” Konan asked.

“Yeah, different colors represent different types of energy to do different things.” She held her cloak and uniform close to her chest and held onto her sheath in her other hand.

“That’s interesting,” Konan commented. She had watched the color differences since they were in the greenhouse. “I’ll show you to your room that you’ll be sharing with Itachi and Kisame.” She opened the door and led her back the way they came. Konan knocked quietly on their door and Itachi welcomed them in.

She slowly opened the door and Alpha hesitated to step inside.

Kisame laid under a blanket on the edge of the futon on the floor and faced Itachi who had looked up from the book he was reading.

Itachi was surrounded by a blanket and held the book in one hand.

Kisame might have been asleep. His body practically formed a wall in front of Itachi. His breathing was slow enough for it.

Itachi smiled faintly and spoke quietly. “Welcome, there’s some room in the closet you can use.” He looked down at the futons put together. “We’ll share that I guess. Kisame likes to take the blankets though, just warning you now.” He looked at his book again and scanned the page.

“We’ll start dinner now. It should be ready soon,” Konan commented before closing the door behind Alpha.

Alpha moved slowly to put her stuff on a shelf in the closet and hung up her cloak. She knelt down with her swords and turned around to lean against the wall. She rested her sheath on her lap and looked at the three spherical crystals embedded in the handle of one of them. They reflected the light coming from the window on the ceiling as she held it in the palm of her hand. The sun was starting to set. 

The handle had enough space for her hand between additional crystals in the end of the handle and at the base of the sword blade. The power she could use with this one sword could annihilate everything in this house and beyond it for at least a few hundred meters in all directions. If she wanted to.

“You have no idea who I am and you offered to share your room with me,” Alpha’s question got Itachi’s attention. “Why?” she asked quietly.

“I could also ask why you agreed to come along in the first place or why you healed my eyes and lungs without introducing yourself first or knowing who we are.” He shook his book. “I can read again, by the way, so thank you.” He put a hand on Kisame’s face. “And Kisame doesn’t hate you. He’s just very protective of me.” Kisame’s hand moved from under the covers and grabbed Itachi’s to kiss it.

“Well, that’s good. I’d hate to make a bad first impression on someone who’d probably be a good sparring buddy.” Alpha commented and started to slide her sword out of its sheath. It was shaped like a samurai sword, that’s how she liked them. She held it up under the reddish light of the sunset and watched it glow as everything refracted the light. Its malachite base was the only thing that didn’t refract light. It absorbed light into the crystals along the center of the blade. She watched the crystals glow with the power that flowed into them. The glow got too bright for comfort. Just simply holding the sword like she did amplified her powers too much.

Kisame had rolled over to face her as she drew her sword. He looked at the ceiling and walls as the light reflected around. “Sparring buddy?” He repeated as a question.

She put it away and held the sheath until the glow died. She placed her swords on the floor in the closet and closed the door.

Alpha moved over to the part of the futon furthest away from Kisame and lay on her back. “You’re the one with the big sword around here so I’d be able to use mine, possibly.” Alpha commented as she shifted to lie on her side to face them.

“Maybe, but my sword is different as you’ve seen. It’s one of the Seven Swordsman blades called Samehada.” Kisame started to explain. “It’s very powerful and,” He brushed his hair back and kept his hand on his head. “It’s meant for taking chakra more so than actual use and it’s still my preferred weapon for a fight. But sparring won’t work.”

“Alright, fine with me.” Alpha responded quickly. She’d never heard someone turn down a sparring match with her. “I can’t afford risking breaking my swords if it’s that powerful. I don’t exactly have access to my forge right now.” 

“What do yours do?” Kisame asked. His eyes focused on her. “Your sword started to glow when you held it.” 

“They absorb my power at its rawest form and amplify it into a weapon I can use. I can use my power with just my hands just fine, as you saw, but the swords help to focus it. The blades expand and grow in size in proportion to the power that’s used so the swords can keep up with me.” Alpha explained as simply as she could. “The two work together two draw different power from me so I can use them together. They’re designed to be used in battle when I have less control over my impulses.” She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling and looked at the sky. “They also make me a long range fighter but I prefer close range combat. It feels a lot less boring.”

“Why is that?” Kisame asked. “I’d kill for power like yours…” He stopped so she glanced over to see Itachi pat Kisame’s face. “Okay, not really kill, but,” he grabbed Itachi’s wrist gently. “You know… to be more powerful.” Alpha looked away as their fingers entwined.

“The first time you stand on the front lines and see the enemy army stretch as far back as you can see,” she gestured in the air with her hands. “And you step in front of your own army, and,” she swung her arm to the side then up to the ceiling, “wave your sword and watch the enemy army obliterate into ash from your power as it tears away from you and towards them in tsunami type waves of power,” she paused. “Power like that is great, but why would I train in close combat for all those years if all I get to do is wave a sword one time and that’s what takes out an army?” She lowered her arm. “What was the point?” She took a deep breath and sighed. “There is such a thing as being too powerful.”

“Well, if I was stronger I’d be able to protect those closest to me a lot better than I can now.” Kisame commented calmly.

“From what?” Alpha asked, “Aren’t you the strong and powerful bad guys that people are afraid of fighting?” She looked over at them.

“My brother wants to kill me.” Itachi didn’t look up from his book. “He thinks it’ll… he thinks taking revenge...” He took a sharp breath in, “for what I did will help him feel better for what happened.” He closed his eyes. “But it’s what I told him to do…”

Kisame’s eyes widened as he heard Itachi speak. He rolled over with his arm reaching for him, “Hey,” He said gently and quietly. He put his hand on Itachi’s face and wiped tears off his cheeks as Itachi put his hands on Kisame’s. “It’s okay.” He leaned up on one arm to sit up. He grabbed Itachi and pulled him off his cushion into his lap in a tight hug.

Itachi pressed his forehead into Kisame’s neck and shook.

Alpha sat up too. She didn’t expect that reaction. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know.” Kisame answered for him. He closed his body in around Itachi.

Alpha got up, stepped over to them and sat down. She put her hand on Itachi’s shoulder. She felt him relax a bit. She was hesitant to invade his memories to see what happened. But she heard fragments of sentences from an old man and screams, pleading and crying from the broken memory he was reliving was enough for her to put her hand on his head.

She was pulled into that memory… He reached for someone as they fell from the cliff…It was blurry… The old man she saw. Danzo. Everything about him… she hated. Or was it Itachi’s hate she felt? Whoever’s hate it was, she agreed with it.

Alpha shook her head to regain control of what she wanted to do. She had to focus on blocking Itachi’s memory or she’d be drawn into it again. She let the green aura cover his temples in an attempt to block out the memory like she’s done to so many of her comrades before. She kept it up until he relaxed into Kisame’s arms.

“What did you do this time?” Kisame asked and leaned in to kiss his forehead after he felt Itachi relax.

She pulled her hand back. “I blocked out the trauma from his memory. He still has the memory but it’s like it’s behind a blurry wall so it’s less vivid but he knows something bad happened.” She leaned back on an arm. “It shouldn’t haunt him so much.”

“Could you see the memory?” Kisame asked quietly.

“Not too much. I wouldn’t do that without his permission.” She explained quietly and remained quiet for a while.

She watched as Kisame slowly rocked Itachi as a source of comfort. Alpha wondered if Kisame wanted to protect Itachi from his brother.

_But that can’t happen. It’s his fate._ Alpha reminded herself.

She did, however, want to confirm who the old man was, the one who had been speaking in fragmented sentences. The one that wasn’t a part of the family but was telling Itachi something. She knew better than to ask about that right now so she went back to her side of the futon and sat down. She crossed her legs and rested her wrists on her knees then closed her eyes. 

She’ll find out for herself.

She cast out her senses. It was a form of meditation.

It looked like she was flying above the ground. The energy signature was faint but she could follow it. She saw the grass blur by as she focused on the source of the energy. The blur grew more intense and it passed by a lot of trees, eventually finding a path.

The giant green open gates were hard to miss. She felt the haunting despair from a specific section of the village. She could see it all as if she was really there, flying through town, invisible. She looked up to see a large empty property that looked like it had been there for generations. 

She felt her claws dig into the palms of her hands then lightly scratching as the despair lingered too long. Someone else’s pain was always too much for her. There was a lot here.

Her attention flew to the mountain side and through a building, a few walls and she was looking directly at the man she saw in Itachi’s memory.

This was the source of the energy signature.

She could see clearly that he had bandages on his eye and his right arm was bandaged completely and wrapped to his body.

Alpha knew her right arm lifted subconsciously. She could feel it move. She felt it heat up. She knew the fire was there… for an attack.

The bandaged parts of his body…gave off the same energy as Itachi’s power did.

She opened her eyes as she felt her arm swing forward. Her fist was covered in flames and they moved quickly over her arm. She stopped her arm just in time with her other hand. 

“What the fuck?” Kisame yelled at her. “What was that for?”

She looked at her hand as the flames died down. She breathed in deeply and the flames escaped with her breath and extended out to the far wall. The cloud of flame billowed across the futon but didn’t burn it, or burn Kisame when it reached them. It didn’t burn anything in that room. And it faded away quickly.

Alpha took another breath in to try to calm down.

With a claw she drew a simple fan on her hand and left it to bleed, a circle with a handle at the bottom then drew an arc in the middle of it. “What symbol is that?”

“That’s the Uchiha symbol, Itachi’s family crest.” Kisame had turned around to watch her draw it. “Where did you see that?”

“It’s outside their home.” Alpha answered and looked at the palm of her hand as it healed. “When I close my eyes, my mind wanders. Literally, wanders around. I can see whatever I want to. I found the village where they’re from and saw that symbol on the posts outside the property. I also felt the despair and sadness connected to that place then was drawn to an old man that’s probably on a council or something. His aura reeked of his family’s blood.” She paused hoping Kisame was following this. “Just seeing him pissed me off.”

“So you wanted to punch him, if I’ve guessed correctly.” Kisame had been able to follow what she said.

“No.” She almost cut him off, “I wanted to kill him.” Alpha turned to them. She blinked and tears rolled down her cheeks. She spoke normally, “I don’t know what happened but it was bad and that man is responsible for it.” The tears stopped a moment later. It’s an automatic response for absorbing someone else’s pain.

“I slaughtered my clan.” Itachi spoke in a whisper and had stopped crying. 

I turned to them and Itachi sat up to face me. 

He clutched the top of Kisame’s shoulder by his neck.

“But who gave the order? I’m sure you didn’t decide to do that on your own.”

She watched him deteriorate in front of her and she wanted to help.

He breathed in. “It’s complicated... But I still…” He buried his face in Kisame’s shoulder. Kisame rested his face on Itachi’s head.

“I’m not going to ask you to talk about it. But I understand.” Alpha commented calmly. “Orders are orders. Often there are impossible decisions involved. Orders are not to be broken. However, corrupt leaders do not deserve the power they have because they’ve lied and cheated their way into that power. Or they think they deserve something for their time with it. Or abuse the power completely and get away with it.”

“You really wanted to kill him.” Kisame said in realization and faced her.

“Corruption is the fastest road to war.” Alpha said nonchalantly and shrugged her shoulders.

Itachi chuckled softly and sniffled, “It’s nice to know you have an instant kill mode.” He mumbled then kissed Kisame’s neck. 

“Feeling better?” Kisame whispered and moved his arms so Itachi could sit up.

“Yeah,” Itachi looked up at Kisame. “Thank you,” he murmured. 

Alpha looked away as they kissed.

“Lady Konan wants to know if everyone is okay.” It was Tobi’s voice. His steps got closer and he opened the door.

Itachi looked up from Kisame. He pointed to Alpha, “She wants to go kill Danzo.”

Tobi’s mask landed on her as his eye looked at hers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be an explanation about how Alpha knows some things but not others in a later chapter. I want to ease into her powers before giving away her stronger abilities though one of her strongest has already been shown in this fic, though it was used at a lower degree than she usually uses it.


	6. There's Freedom in the Wind

She glanced between Itachi and Tobi. Why did she feel like she was being tattled on?

“No one kills anyone unless it’s approved.” Kakuzu spoke as he stopped behind Tobi who moved out of the way.

He dropped down quickly and scooted sideways.

Kakuzu’s long hair settled on both sides of his face. His shirt covered his front and his neck but exposed his shoulders and arms. 

“This is not where I want to be,” Tobi said as he walked away. “Everyone’s okay,” he announced to the living room.

“Danzo?” Kakuzu asked but continued when he remembered, “the councilman from the Leaf? He’s still alive?”

“Yes,” Alpha answered. 

“Who are we killing?” Hidan jumped onto Kakuzu’s back so he could see. His pale purple eyes landed on Alpha as he wrapped his arms around Kakuzu’s neck. 

Kakuzu immediately looked angry and bent forward to flip Hidan off him. He landed on his back and looked at Alpha.

She was startled by the up close look at the masks on Kakuzu’s back and looked at how the shirt was structured to accommodate the masks.

“Danzo of the Leaf.” Kisame repeated. 

Kakuzu seemed surprised and Hidan smiled at Alpha. It was creepy. “That might be okay.” Kakuzu spoke into the silence.

Hidan looked up at Kakuzu in complete surprise, “Shit, you approve of something that isn’t money?” He moved his legs to sit up on them.

Kakuzu smiled until the stitching on his mouth stretched out. “Danzo’s been a pain in the ass since I first met him on the battlefield.” He looked down at Hidan softly. “Knowing that man was dead would make me very happy. Maybe she’ll even sacrifice him.” He smiled more when he finished talking. 

Hidan’s smile grew wider and sat back to let his legs relax, “It’s so hot when you talk about death.”

Oh. Definitely a noisy couple.

Kakuzu dropped onto his knees on the inside of Hidan’s legs. He grabbed Hidan’s waistband and dragged him closer. Hidan smiled and grabbed Kakuzu’s hair when he got close enough.

“You know you love this shit too, you grumpy fuck.” Hidan said as their faces got close. Kakuzu propped Hidan up on his lap and he wrapped his arms around his back. He leaned back and stood up. Hidan attacked him with kisses and they didn’t even close the door.

Alpha reached out with one hand and closed the door.

“They’re aggressive.” Kisame said in a low, deadpan voice.

“And right before dinner too,” Tobi said and then opened the door. He had watched them walk down the hall. “Konan wanted to know if you were eating too, senpai.”

“Tell her thanks, but no. I don’t need to eat.” Alpha answered.

“I’m making you food anyway!” Konan yelled down the hall.

Alpha could smell what she was making. It smelled really good.

“Okay!” Alpha yelled back. 

“Senpai,” Tobi started. “Itachi, Kisame, let’s all go to the living room.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Kisame agreed and made sure Itachi stood on his own before he got up. He helped move Itachi’s fluffy blanket over his shoulders and let him walk first. 

“They’re loud,” Tobi said while swaying and letting his arms swing. “Not that the living room is any further away but we can all listen to them together.” He turned around and raised his arms. “We can all be uncomfortable together!” he trotted to the kitchen. “Teamwork!” he yelled as Deidara threw something at him.

“Pick that up Deidara,” Pain demanded from the kitchen.

Alpha walked out to the living room. It was well lit. Konan and Pain were in the kitchen cooking. It wasn’t very big but supported them decently. Sasori worked on his puppets, it looked like, on the table along the back wall. Deidara read a book on explosives and was seated under the kotatsu. Tobi flopped onto the entirety of the couch across from Deidara who threw another white object at him.

“Share the couch!” Deidara yelled then got back to his book.

Tobi got up and jumped over the kotatsu to Deidara’s side on the floor. “Okay, I’m sharing the couch!” He yelled as he sat down next to Deidara who pushed him away.

Itachi and Kisame sat on the couch. Itachi pulled his legs up and leaned on Kisame.

Alpha walked to the counter to see what Konan was cooking.

Before she could ask, she heard them hitting the wall with a rhythm and immediately turned to the door. “I’m going outside.” She said as she walked to the door and got her shoes on. “I don’t want to hear _everything_ they do.” She grabbed the doorknob and walked out into the night air.

“The moon’s out,” She whispered to herself as she shut the door. Was it supposed to be a full moon tonight? When was the last time she saw a moon? Five years?

Alpha stepped away from the noise and out into the grass. She gazed up at the moon.

She was appreciative of her nanotech. It kept the cold off of her, though her metabolism kept her temperature constantly too high for normal human function. She always welcomed the cold when it was comfortable. 

But she could still hear Hidan’s moans so she walked further out into the grass. A moment later the moans were muffled. 

She looked up at the moon and felt the moonlight comfort her. Just like her other powers did when she needed help even when she won’t admit it to herself. Her powers serve as an extension of the Elemental gods and also as proof that they’re still there. She watched her hands turn pale blue and reveal a crescent moon pattern up her arms.

“Yeah you’re right,” Itachi said as he opened the door. “They’re really bad tonight.” His voice trailed off when he saw Alpha look at her arms. As she twisted her hand, the light moved with her movement.

She turned around to see him wrapped in a blanket and followed by Kisame.

“It’s quieter out here but colder.” He kept an arm wrapped around Itachi. “Let me know when you get too cold.” He looked out to see Alpha give off a faint glow. Her eyes glowed pale blue this time. 

Alpha turned to face the field and let the moonlight engulf her. It turned her skin pale blue as it covered her. She felt the long lost sensation of wings on her back and enjoyed it as they flexed and moved to lift her up. She turned her head and saw that they were ghostly. Hope fleeted from her as she saw through them. Her hair turned white as she looked up and took to the sky quickly. The cold air rushed passed her as she flew higher and higher towards the dark blue starry abyss. She let her body roll with the momentum as she twisted in the air. Her wings settled in the altitude and she missed how her body hung from her wings. She looked out at the horizon. 

It was a clear night and she could see for kilometers in any direction. The Leaf village wasn’t too far away, maybe fifty kilometers. She could see its soft glow in the distance.

_It’s been a long time,_ A soft voice spoke into her head.

She turned to see Allyiah, the goddess of the moon. She’s another of the Elemental gods, like Hexane. Allyiah’s white flowing robes emphasized how much she looked like a goddess. Her light blue hair matched Alpha’s skin and it was pinned up in a crescent moon clip like it always had been. The familiar pale yellow eyes had been watching her.

_It’s good to see you._ Allyiah smiled as her thoughts reached Alpha’s head. _We haven’t forgotten about you._

“How are you here?” Alpha asked quietly. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to see Allyiah or if she was even happy to see the goddess. Alpha’s wings flapped slowly to keep a pace with her as she floated through the air. It would be too hard to hover.

_Hexane let me be here_ , She paused to hold her arm out to Alpha. _For a few minutes,_ She held her arm out to Alpha and put her hand on her cheek. _You’re easy to find_ , she paused to smile, _When you allow yourself to be found._

Alpha smiled and leaned into her hand, “Is Ceteareth still angry that I left?” She feared the answer, either one. She was scared. When Alpha said she abandoned everything, she meant it. She left the gods and goddesses of the elements too, even though they claimed they only ever had her best interests in mind.

_She was at first._ she still spoke in short sentences. _You betrayed her. You betrayed all of us._ Allyiah’s gentle tone didn’t change. _But we miss you._ She let her words fade in Alpha’s mind. “We are just glad you’re happy.” Allyiah tilted her head as she spoke out loud, “with your decisions.”

Alpha lifted her hand to put it on Allyiah’s and then moved it in front of her to hold it between both hands.

Allyiah started to smile. Alpha’s green aura covered them.

“I still have my powers. They aren’t nearly as strong as they were before, but they’re strong enough.” Alpha explained.

“And you still have mine.” Allyiah commented. “And you’re keeping those.” She pointed at the wings with one hand and a flash of white landed on the wings. “They will always be yours.”

Alpha tensed up and her wings straightened out as they manifested where her wings used to be. “Fuck,” she muttered as the nerves attached but she could feel her wings again. She let go of Alliyah’s hand when she fell slightly. She quickly regained her elevation and flexed her wings out as she moved them. Every muscle screamed as it was being forced to stretch and contract against the movements she never forgot.

“I’ll let them know,” Allyiah hugged her tightly under the bases of her wings. “That you’re okay.” Her voice faded as the grip faded.

Alpha was left alone in the sky. She looked up at the waning crescent moon then at her arms. They’d gone back to normal. She felt the push and pull of her wings as they kept her in the sky. She watched them as they moved. Every muscle strained against the new sensations but she was happy that the pain was even there.

It’d been well over a decade since she had wings. Not since…

She looked at her hands and remembered how they were covered in blood back then. She put her hands down and stared off to the dark blue horizon.

Her past was behind her. She could only move forward. 

Alpha tucked her arms in and rolled in the sky to fall to the ground. She faced the sky for a moment then rolled again to face the ground. She smiled and felt her tears hit her shoulders. As the ground approached she moved her wings to pull up and fly along the ground for a few seconds then back up into the sky.

She flew faster and faster until she could glide upwards. She spun and her wings followed the movement. Her feathers nearly wrapped all the way down her legs. As she hit the peak of velocity she threw her arms up and let her wings float up around her. She laughed and watched them before she fell back down again. She turned downwards and flew at an angle towards the ground with plans to fly beyond the hideout.

Freedom!

Her wings pushed her forward through the air and she passed Itachi and Kisame and the door to the hideout. She flew for a few meters before she held her wings out to slow down. She knew she wouldn’t be able to fly too far. She leaned in the air and turned around. 

When she saw Itachi and Kisame, they’d watched her of course. She flapped backwards and moved her legs to land. She hit the ground a little rough and flapped her wings twice before closing them.

“So you also have wings?” Kisame sounded confused. “You don’t have enough power?”

Alpha looked up at him, “I lost my wings over a decade ago when my mentor died. They don’t make me more powerful but they’re a tool I missed having.” She moved one in front of her. Did it have to be white? It didn’t matter too much. She was just glad to have them again. 

She sighed in relief, “I can use wings in combat again.” she folded her wings closed, “if I ever go into combat again.” She contemplated it for the first time in years. Waging war could be possible now. Her biggest asset on the battlefield had been given to her once more.

The door opened, “They’re done!” Konan called, “And also dinner is ready!”

Alpha tucked her wings to her back. She could tell her shirt ripped when Alliyah had made them solid but at least she didn’t need to worry about cutting up this shirt.

As Itachi approached Konan he commented, “Yeah so she has wings now.”

Konan looked surprised then looked at Alpha as she walked up. “You told me you didn’t have them.” She looked up at her folded wings as she walked by.

Alpha smiled at her. “An old friend gave them to me.” she paused at the doorway. “She’s from back home but she won’t be back.”

“Okay,” Konan knew an explanation would have taken too long and she just wanted to eat. Kisame helped Itachi sit at the large dinner table. There was a decent spread of rice, meats, and vegetables with various little dishes in front of everyone. Pain was gone already and Konan sat across from Kisame at the end of the table.

Alpha sat with a seat between her and Konan, just in case the muscles holding her wings folded decided to spasm. Deidara sat at the corner on the other side of the table. Tobi sat on the other side of Alpha. Sasori didn’t join them at the table. Kakuzu walked out of the shadows of the hallway and silently crossed the living room to prepare two plates and reached around Itachi for some rice.

The bite mark shaped bruises on his neck were obvious but she doubted he was hiding them. He had one long scratch down his arm too. Itachi saw it and looked ahead at the wall between Konan and Alpha. It was a weird kind of quiet.

He straightened up once he was done and he returned to his room.

“He can’t fucking walk. You’re welcome!” He shouted as he crossed the living room. He walked into the hall and opened the door with some of his threads. He had scratches on his back that weren’t there before.

“Thanks for the update!” Tobi yelled after him with a wave. He’d finally taken off his cloak and was wearing his shirt and pants like the rest of the group but still had the gloves on.

“Thank you Konan,” Alpha turned to her to break the silence, “for including me in dinner.” “You’re welcome,” She responded and put her hands together for a moment then reached for food with her chopsticks.

Alpha copied the movements when everyone else did.

Konan put food on Alpha’s plate and some rice in her rice bowl. “You’re one of us. You have to eat.”

“Oh, well thank you. But I don’t need to.”

“Why’s that?” Itachi asked after swallowing his mouthful and reached for his cup of tea with one arm from under the blanket. He only had veggies and half bowl of rice. 

Kisame was taking much larger bites of food than Itachi. Tobi hunched over his plate like someone was going to steal it. But he was lifting up his mask to eat. Deidara ate quickly like he wanted to be somewhere else.

Alpha laid her hands on the table on either side of her plate, careful to include the rice bowl. She let the green aura move over the plate. The food disappeared as the green aura turned the food into energy and retracted back into her hands. The green aura travelled to her torso and faded away. “That’s why.” She put her hands in her lap. “That was really good.” She didn’t need to eat but when she did is gave her a way to keep moving if she needed to. It would apply under different circumstances, of course. 

She looked over at Itachi to smile but saw Kisame had rested his hands on the table and still held his chopsticks but he was leaning away from us and stared at her.

“Calm down, Kisame” Itachi spoke quietly.

“It’s weird” Kisame said in response but relaxed.

Alpha glared back and did not believe him. “That’s the weird part?” She didn’t break eye contact and leaned back in her chair. She rested her hands palms up on the table and smiled while her green aura covered the whole table.

Her smile widened when he gasped “Wait!” He yelled as he figured it out. “I’m sorry! It’s not weird!” He picked up his plate and held it above the green aura.

She leaned to Tobi, “watch this.”

“Yes senpai,” He leaned on the table to watch.

She raised one finger and the green aura reached up to the plate.

“Now you’re just being mean!” He whined and put the plate down. “Itachi make her stop!”

Itachi took another bite of rice and didn’t look up or look bothered, “I don’t know what you expect me to do,” He let some laughter escape and looked at Alpha.

She nodded and smiled. 

Tobi started to laugh. Deidara laughed quietly but she heard him.

She grabbed the air with her fingers and the green aura retracted like it had before. She put her hands in her lap and smiled.

“Good one, senpai!” He laughed and calmed down enough to eat again.

It was quiet for a while.

“Alpha,” Kisame spoke up while swallowing his last bite of food and put his chopsticks down.

She looked at him, “Yeah?”

“When we first met, I noticed the reaction you had when you first looked at my face when we met.” He looked away from her. “Why did you make that face?”

She remembered that she had looked at the small gills on his cheeks, “Oh yeah. I thought it was weird you could breathe without water but still had gills. So I assumed you’re human with shark features instead of the other way around.”

“She’s smart.” Itachi commented, still working on his dinner.

“Oh,” He must’ve been expecting a different answer. “How’d you figure that out?” Kisame asked and lightly touched his face.

She breathed in and pushed away the bad memory the best she could, “I had an old comrade who needed water to breathe so he had custom water tanks built to sit around his neck.” She used her hands to gesture like it was a large necklace. “He would gargle the water when he talked and sometimes he was hard to understand but he was a good friend.” She smiled faintly. “I miss him sometimes.”

“Did you leave him behind too?” Konan asked.

“No.” She answered. “He died in battle about fifteen years ago.” She remembered that mossy planet. The war was over resources and the civilians had been unexpectedly in the way. “He had been protecting civilians and the enemy cut him down before our reinforcements could arrive.”

“Does everything you have to say need to be depressing?” Deidara asked.

Alpha looked at Deidara and really wanted to slice his body in half with her gaze.

Tobi jumped up and pointed at Deidara, “Senpai has wonderful things to say! She just isn’t saying them right now!” When he was done yelling he sat back down and crossed his arms. “Thank you Tobi,” Alpha said as she closed her eyes. She opened her wings and patted Tobi with her right wing then let it relax but held them both to her back.

“Tobi’s a good boy,” his voice got quiet.

_“This idiot is going to start the next ninja war?”_ Alpha thought and then opened her eyes and reached for her tea that she’d left alone. That’s a hell of a plan.

This was one of the times she was grateful for her ability to scan memories with physical contact. Even when she used the elements to do the same thing, to know who people are before she spoke to them, it helped here.

But would it have been better if she didn’t know the future? And just fought alongside them for their goals she didn’t share?

She saw Konan get up so she did the same to help drag her thoughts back to the present. Alpha took their plates to the kitchen.

Konan set hers next to the sink and turned to start cleaning up the kitchen. Alpha helped her by starting to wash the dishes.

“Oh, you don’t have to.” Konan turned around to her. She looked at Alpha’s back and saw the muscles flex as the wings shifted while she moved. “Wow,” She said quietly.

Alpha glanced back and saw Konan watch her wings. “Oh, I don’t mind. “ She turned to face the sink. “Every time I change positions from laying down to standing up or sitting to standing up, my wings have to rearrange. They’re usually in the way of a different set of muscles.” Alpha stopped. “I don’t get to lie on my back anymore, unless I can figure it out.”

“Why not?” Kisame had gotten up and leaned on the bar counter. Konan moved his plate to the sink.

“Try to sleep on your back with your arms underneath you.” Alpha replied, “Plus it hurts to have so much weight on them.” How much would she weigh now? A hundred eighty, hundred ninety pounds?

“Can I see them?” Konan asked and watched Alpha while she stretched her wings out as much as she could in the kitchen.

Alpha shook her shoulders and stretched up a bit to get everything lined up and held them mostly open. The kitchen wasn’t quite big enough for her wingspan.

“They’re pure white.” She observed and put one finger on the base. She pushed in until the muscle reacted.

“She was flying outside before dinner.” Kisame commented then reached out for the tip of her wing. She let him move it.

“Don’t pull too hard or I’ll rip your arm off,” Alpha warned him as she felt her wing move. She moved the plates to the drying rack as she washed them. She started on some of the cook ware that didn’t need to soak.

“I won’t.” Kisame said and she felt another hand on her wing. Probably Itachi, the touch was gentle enough. “So you feel all of this?”

“Yeah,” She answered. “It’s like when someone touches your hair. It’s not a direct sensation but I know when my wings are being touched because I’ll feel it over here.” She lifted her arm to point with her thumb at the arm of her wing, the bones where all the feathers attached to. 

Alpha felt her other wing move and turned to see Tobi moving her feathers.

He moved them behind his head, “Look I’m Hidan!”

Alpha moved her wing out of his grip and hit him with enough force to make him step back.

Tobi fell back into Kakuzu who had returned with plates. “Sorry!” He yelled and ran off.

“Here,” Kakuzu gave the plates to Konan who handed them to Alpha. “What’s it like to have wings?” He reached out for them like everyone else had.

“They give me the feeling that I’ll never be trapped anywhere and that I can always get away.” Alpha commented and tried to describe the feeling of flight in terms they would understand. Judging by how his gaze dropped onto the wing, he knew the feeling of being trapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the abrupt end. The chapter would have been too long if I'd included the next scene that it's own chapter now.


	7. The Drinking Bet

Alpha finished the dishes and set them to dry. She pulled her wings in and turned around as she dried her hands on a towel. “Do you guys drink?”

“We have some sake but not anything else,” Konan said, “I can get that warmed up.”

Alpha wondered if her metabolism would burn this off like it burns off all sorts of other alcohol. She also would tell them that later. Eventually.

“Is there enough to see who can out drink me?” Alpha asked her. She didn’t want to drink everything they had.

Konan held a bottle after getting one and looked at Alpha, “I’d love to see you out drink Kakuzu and Kisame.”

“Kakuzu passed out before I did last time,” Kisame reminded her and pointed his thumb at Kakuzu. “But I’ll place a bet anyway.” 

“What do you wager this time?” Konan asked.

“If I win,” Alpha asked, “We’ll spar.” She really wanted to see how he moved with his sword more than actually spar. 

“And if I win,” Kisame pointed at her wings. “You have to let me fly.”

“ _If_ you win,” Alpha repeated and faced him. She positioned herself in front of him and her body language reflected no fear even though he was definitely a foot taller than her. “I’ll take you for a flight.” She held out her hand to him.

He reached his hand out too. She grabbed his forearm and he copied the gesture. She smiled.

“We have a deal.” Her hand barely held his forearm. It was wider than what she was used to. His hand wrapped around her forearm like it was nothing. They let go and moved to the table. “Tobi doesn’t drink!” He yelled from the table and raised his hand up. He held his cup of tea. Those who wanted to drink joined Tobi at the table. Kakuzu went back to the bedroom Hidan was in. Deidara had joined Sasori at his work table at some point. They looked like they were talking quietly. 

“Why don’t you drink?” Alpha asked as she sat down next to him.

“Tobi doesn’t like it,” He said sadly. “But everyone else does.”

“Oh come on, after a few you don’t even taste it anymore.” Kisame spoke as if he was trying to get Tobi to drink. He turned to Itachi next to him and made sure he was comfortable. “Are you going to drink?”

“Moderately,” Itachi replied quietly and pulled the blanket over his shoulders more.

“You always drink moderately.” Kisame commented but sounded sad about it.

Konan brought over a tray with small cups and two bottles of sake. She set out the cups and moved to pour them. As she sat down, Kisame poured hers.

Everyone grabbed their cups with a couple fingers and held them up.

Kakuzu jogged over to the spot across from Alpha. Itachi poured his sake and he joined the party. “Hidan’s sitting this one out.”

Alpha still liked his shirt design. She used that clothing trick too but she just hates sleeves. She always found them to restrict movement.

“I’m sure he’s not sitting up,” the red head called from his work table.

“Nope,” Kakuzu said proudly and took a sip.

Alpha breathed in the faint smell and sipped it. It tasted okay and then swallowed it. She took another sip, “How much did you have last time before he passed out?” She asked Kisame.

“Too many,” Konan replied. “We’ve got a lot more as backup in case this party escalates.”

Alpha dumped it all into her mouth and swallowed it in on gulp.

“I’m gonna die if I keep up with you,” Kisame sounded horrified as he took another sip.

Itachi held his cup out for more. Alpha did the same. Konan slid the second bottle down to her.

“That’s yours.” Konan raised her eyebrows. “Start with that.” She poured more for herself. Alpha poured more and drank that quickly. The warmth went down to her stomach like the first had and then it faded away. The heat didn’t linger like she knew it should have. She poured another.

“Are you going to pace yourself?” Kakuzu asked as he poured himself more.

Alpha shook her head.

Konan finished hers and got up. “I don’t think she’s going to.” She went to the kitchen and opened the cabinet on the far left side and counted the bottles of sake. It was full but for how long? She was glad that Kakuzu let them buy this much but she’d seen the alcohol budget once. It was the highest item that wasn’t something they needed, like clothes and food.

This drinking pattern went on for a while. Konan had brought over three more bottles and Tobi had started drinking too.

“If Senpai can do it, so can Tobi.” He said as he took his first sip.

Alpha leaned on the table, a full cup in her hand. She watched him move his mask to the side so he could drink.

He swallowed it but coughed. “That can’t possibly ever taste good.” He complained but took another drink and poured himself more.

Itachi hadn’t had too much but was already trying to sleep on Kisame. He leaned over too far and coughed. He moved a leg to stand up. “I’m gonna go to the couch,” He stood up and was looking directly down at Kisame.

Kisame looked up. His cheeks had flushed and he breathed in enough that his chest expanded. He smiled and quietly said, “Okay.” their lips met and Kisame wrapped an arm around his legs. A few kisses later Itachi backed away and moved to the couch. He nearly fell onto it and passed out immediately as he pulled his blanket over him.

Alpha finished her sake and poured another one, “that’s cute.” She started drinking that one but still didn’t feel the effects of alcohol.

“And you’re happy,” Kakuzu commented with a nod as he drank more. A faint line of pink was forming over his cheeks. “I’m sure you heard Hidan.”

“Yep,” Deidara said from Sasori’s work table. “He always sounds like he loves it.”

Kakuzu’s cheeks got a little redder and he drank his next round of sake quickly, “Yeah.”

“Have you ever fucked while on a mission?” Alpha asked him.

He looked to the side and nodded slowly.

“What was the weirdest place?” Kisame asked quietly. He smiled and looked like he had his own stories. “Knowing him, it’s probably a graveyard or a temple.”

Kakuzu nodded a bit, “there’s been a temple or two.” He drank more. “He’s stronger than he looks so I tied him down once.”

“Only once?” Konan asked and took a sip of hers. She looked at him with an eye brow raised and didn’t believe him. 

“More than once but the first time I did,” He poured another one and drank it quickly. He looked like he was remembering it. “The first time I tied him down… Well, it’s been a long time since it’s been that good.”

“Alpha,” Konan slid a bottle down the table. “We’ll get you to talk, too, don’t worry.” Her smile was really big.

“Just drink from the bottle.” Kisame said and leaned forward.

Alpha picked up the bottle and tilted it back. She leaned into the back of the chair and drank without gasping for air.

“Shit.” Kisame said, “I definitely can’t keep up with her.”

“That may have been a mistake,” Konan laughed. “You’re losing your bet.” She smiled at Kisame.

Kisame sat back, “We’ll see about that,” He drank more and reached for a bottle with his other hand.

“I want in on this,” Kakuzu demanded.

Alpha slammed her hand down on the table hard enough that the bottles rattled in place. She held the new bottle in one hand and pointed at him with the other. She raised her eyebrows, “No you don’t.”

“Yes I do,” Kakuzu turned to her pretty quickly and he swayed a bit.

“Do you have a sword?” Alpha asked. “It’s a sparring bet.” 

“I can borrow one,” Kakuzu said but stared into his cup.

“If you don’t already have one,” She put the bottle to her mouth to drink then lowered it, “then you can’t join in on the bet.”

Kakuzu let out an audible sigh of frustration. But he drank more to keep quiet.

“If you’re not already familiar with your weapon, you’ll humiliate yourself. Besides, what’s in it for me?” Alpha asked and blatantly looked up and down his built torso. She pointed to him with one finger, “It’s not like you can hide those life forces from me.” She hiccupped faintly. “We couldn’t even spar.” She didn’t even sound disappointed. She hated to go up against someone she knew would lose.

“Who told her?” Kakuzu glared at the rest of the table.

“No one told me,” Alpha kept drinking between sentences. “I can see them. Probably in a similar way you’d be able to see chakra probably.” She put the bottle down. “Yeah-I don’t know how that works though.” She started to slur her words. “They’re different colors so they’re likely not to be yours.”

“She knows your secrets,” Kisame laughed. His cheeks held a mild pink color.

“When was the last time you had a partner, Alpha?” Konan asked and dramatically changed the subject. It caused the table to quiet down. “A sexual partner,” Konan had to clarify.

They looked at her.

She gently put down the bottle and hated the attention. If they really wanted to know, she’d tell the truth. “I’d say it’s been eight or so years.”

“No one good enough for you?” Kakuzu asked with a smirk.

She leaned on one elbow and leaned her face on her hand. She made direct eye contact and spoke with a long sigh, “He had a heart attack that couldn’t be treated in time.” She drank from the bottle to finish it. She put the bottle down, “I’m already hard to handle outside the bedroom.” 

Kakuzu was quiet. Only Konan drank from her cup and quietly put it down.

“And I don’t favor teamwork, the other type of partner. I always end up doing everything.” She started a new bottle. “Fucking lazy bitches always waiting for me to go first, talk first, take charge, shoot first. Whatever.” She paused, “they could never do shit on their own. That’s why I prefer solo work.”

Konan wanted to get her to talk, so she did.

There was an uncomfortable silence but Alpha knew why. They relied on teamwork. She was now a part of it. She took another drink. Kakuzu’s contemplative glare was getting weird.

“What was your role in war?” Kakuzu broke the silence.

She looked at him, “I commanded the legions.” She glanced down then back at him, “The generals liked how I commanded the armies on the battlefield and preferred how I could think quickly to either save a troop or attack with it.”

“How big were these wars?” Kakuzu’s question grabbed Tobi’s attention too.

“When you go to war, it’s usually country versus country right?” Alpha asked him.

He nodded, “or one or two versus another.”

“Wars I took part in were planet versus planet.” Alpha watched him lean back in his seat. “I commanded the legions of the Alliance, a growing collection of planetary agreements to keep their own populations safe. They run an extremely militant regime and no matter how much seniority or experience a general had, they knew I was in charge on the battlefield.”

She took another drink, “These wars are the type of wars to wipe out a planet in mass genocide if it doesn’t… end in time.”

“Is mass genocide like…” Kisame wasn’t sure how to ask his question.

“Mass genocide means all life on an entire planet has been annihilated,” Alpha explained. “What’s left of the armies get to leave, sure, but the native population is gone. It gets reclassified as a dead planet and its left as it was at the end of the war.” She took a deep breath, “That’s why I broke the frontlines.”

“Why?” Kakuzu asked. “What does that do?”

“It gives my army a higher chance of success,” Alpha answered immediately. “And it helps spare innocent lives.”

“Impressive.” He commented.

“Not really.” she replied, “I have no idea how many lives I’ve taken with my bare hands.”

“But you have swords and powers and stuff,” Kisame interjected.

“Yeah,” She replied. 

“Will we ever get to see you fight like you would in one of those wars?” Konan asked.

Alpha drank some more sake and turned to Konan, “I honestly hope you never see that. It means there’s one hell of a war raging on.” she held the sake bottle in her hand and turned to her in her chair. “I don’t take prisoners, I leave no survivors. It’s just how I wage war.”

“Alpha, you fit right in with us.” Kakuzu commented.

She looked at Kakuzu, “thank you Kakuzu.” She moved her sake bottle to his sake cup and bumped it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I'll figure out how sake works more than by just looking it up. I've had it once at a dinner with friends during a convention but didn't like it.


	8. Everything Alpha Left Behind

Alpha took another drink and put it on the table. “I think I’m going to go lay down,” She slowly stood up and stretched when she was stable. She flapped her wings once and tucked them to her back.

“See you in the morning, senpai,” Tobi spoke with his head on the table.

She turned to him, “You should probably sleep too.”

Kakuzu chuckled as Alpha walked around the table.

She crossed the living room and stepped up the step to the hallway. The room was easy enough to find and she closed the door behind her. The light from the moon faintly lit up the room.

She slowly lay down on the futons and maneuvered her wings out from under her. The futons weren’t too comfortable but it’s better than solid ground. She gathered a pillow under her head and let her wings spread across the room.

She listened to their conversation.

“Do you think she’s okay?” Kisame spoke quietly. “We didn’t ask if she didn’t want to talk about her past.” 

“I think she just needs to lie down,” Konan said back. “She’ll be fine.”

“So did I lose the bet?” Kisame wondered, “Oh you want to go lay down? Okay, I’ll be there in a bit,” He spoke quietly. “I’m gonna help clean up when we’re done.”

Itachi must want to sleep. Alpha listened to his light footsteps as they got closer to the door. She moved to the side of one of the futons and relaxed into the pillow again. She lay with her back to the wall so there was zero chance of anyone lying on her wings.

The door opened then he closed it quietly behind him. He hesitated then walked down the middle of the futons and lay down next to Alpha. He put his blanket over her and relaxed into his own pillow.

She let her right wing stay where it was, sprawled out on the floor and resting up on the wall. The left wing rested on top of the two of them over the blanket.

“Are you okay?” He whispered. He looked at her with his dark eyes that were hard to read. 

“I will be,” she answered. “I just need a few minutes. What about you?”

“The sake helped.” He answered then reached for her hand she’d rested on the pillow. His grip was returned. “Are you really going to kill Danzo?”

“If I’m allowed to,” She answered back. “I feel like I would need permission from Pain in order to actually go do that.”

Itachi started to fall asleep. She could tell by the resting heart rate, “Well, you have mine.”

She reached over him with her left arm and pulled him closer. She readjusted her wing as well. He rested into her chest as she rolled onto her back.

“You’re very warm,” He mumbled.

Alpha shifted her wing across the floor as she moved. She moved to tuck the blanket around his back and rested on him as he fell asleep. His grip on her hand loosened completely and she moved that hand behind her head.

As long as Kisame doesn’t try to step on her wing or kill her, this night will end well.

She looked up through the window on the ceiling. The clear starry night was nice. 

How would she kill Danzo? Dramatically or quickly? Should she make him pay for a crime she had no part in? She could always make him feel their pain.

She smiled at the thought of it. She hadn’t done that one in a while. She always got a little too enthusiastic about making someone feel their victims’ pain. 

She also couldn’t do that without Mirrikh, the Elemental god of Death.

Alpha listened for footsteps as she heard the soft clank of dishes. She made sure her breath didn’t change its pace. 

She shrugged slightly. She could suffocate him. She would do that by pulling the air out of the victim’s lungs and watching them die. She loved watching the victim writhe on the ground unable to breathe.

She thought about other things she could do instead. Actually, there was one thing…

She hadn’t used her light whip yet. Not in field use. She trained with it a long time ago but never used it in action. Like with all the elements powers, this one was used by two fingers and basically pretending there was a lasso to throw but it could go through buildings and barriers and such and it only grabbed the target as it wrapped around them enough times that they could be pulled towards the user.

Why hadn’t she used that yet?

She smiled.

All of them.

All of them seemed like a good idea.

But that arm. She had to deal with that first. She’d seen the Uchiha energy on it and needed to take care of that before she killed him.

So, she’d rip the arm off after the lasso then burn it. Then kill him even though he’d be bleeding to death already. 

But he’s also got to be guarded. He’s not going to be an open target. And whoever is guarding him or the building he’s in will just be doing their job. They’ll be doing everything they can to stop her. 

Not to mention it’s in the heart of a shinobi village.

However, her advantage was being an unknown face. She had few disadvantages to up close combat and could sense a life force through anything. Goddess of Life powers made it impossible to hide a life force from her. 

There were footsteps. They were heavy staggered steps that were not in a hurry. She closed her eyes and waited for the door to open.

When it did, Kisame just stood in the doorway and looked at them. He was glad they left enough room for him.

She felt the floor shift under his weight as he walked. His steps paused then continued to deliberately avoid her wing. She heard him move to the other side of the futons. He shuffled around with clothing and slowly moved under the other blanket.

Kisame settled behind Itachi and pushed the pillow to lay on it. He moved to kiss Itachi’s cheek then relaxed into another pillow. He shifted his body to rest right behind Itachi’s. He moved his arm under the blanket and reached around Itachi. He didn’t seem to mind Alpha’s arm also there.

Alpha moved her wing to cover his arm as he settled in.

She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling.

He focused on her, “your eyes glow in the dark, did you know that?” Kisame whispered.

She looked at him, “Yeah, it doesn’t make everything look like daytime but I can see things just fine.” Her irises glowed green in the dark.

He was quiet for a few minutes.

“When you said you don’t sleep, is it the same thing as how you eat?” Kisame asked in a whisper.

“Yeah, it’s basically the same thing.” She answered. “The healing aura I create makes it feel like I’ve woken up from a really good night’s sleep, but I feel like that all the time.”

“I guess snoring won’t bother you much.” He didn’t quite ask but said it like a joke.

“Do either of you snore?” She asked.

“No, but Deidara does.” He answered, “It’s not obnoxious most of the time but it can be.”

“He’s a good kid. He just needs attention and direction.” Alpha commented.

“How do you know?” Kisame asked another question.

“I’ve seen his type before. Kids like him usually end up top of the class with the right mentor.” Alpha answered. “The Academy was always really good at praise and encouragement. But that constant praise and encouragement vanishes once you graduate into the ranks at HQ where you survive off your own confidence you built during your time at the Academy.”

“Is that where you’re from?” Kisame asked.

Alpha didn’t answer right away. “They were the ones that treated me like a weapon because I got exclusive training from the Chief, but technically yes, that’s where I’m from.” She moved her left arm over her nose and used it to access the touchpad on the data screen that brightened up to look like a separate section from her arm. She swirled it then tapped a few times. She lowered her arm and a projection of her home’s star map came up into the room.

Kisame rolled onto his back to look. “I don’t even recognize that.” 

“Where I’m from, they’d appreciate a group like you.” She stretched the truth a little. They would have been constrained beyond their sanity and unable to murder freely. But once they would have been able to, there were no rules.

“Really?” He turned to her but then looked back up at the ceiling.

“Yeah,” She answered. “You’d be hired mercenaries probably.” She paused, “but once you’re outside of jurisdiction range, that’s when it’s the best.”

“Outside of jurisdiction range?” Kisame asked.

She turned to look at him, “It’s where the rules stop and anything goes.” 

“Did the rules hold you back?” He asked and thought about that question for himself. Did the rules hold him back or were they there to keep others safe from him?

“The only time the rules bothered me was when I was denied certain missions and redirected to others.” Alpha recalled, “I got reassigned to missions that were more for diplomatic purposes and ultimately prepared me for the job I didn’t want.”

“What was your job? Commanding the front lines couldn’t have been the only thing you did.” Kisame asked. This was getting interesting.

She paused to think and waited for Itachi to reposition himself to look up too. “I was the prodigy, specially trained by the Chief... He tried out a lot of different training techniques with me.” She recalled the genetic manipulation for the wings she had at the time and the mix of genetics for claws and fangs that she still used. “I was best of the best, top of the ranks at fifteen and out on the battlefield leading armies. Over time, the mention of my presence was enough to get others in line. I created my own team and we worked very well together, but once I found out the truth behind it all, everything crumbled from underneath me.” 

She felt Itachi look around at the ceiling and watch the stars as they drifted slowly across the ceiling.

The star map always projected with the movement of the planet the user is on.

She kept her voice low, “In the mean time, though, I’d started to train under the Elemental gods because they wanted to protect me from… all that. Eventually I learned how to use the elements like I know them now. War became tedious and easy.” she paused. “I was the perfect soldier. But I got tired of the lies and just… Once I saw my opportunity to leave, I took it.”

Kisame was quiet for a long time. “Who’d you leave behind that you wish you hadn’t?”

Alpha smiled, “My two best friends. They’d built a life that they had so desperately wanted for so long and I wasn’t going to drag them with me.” She paused. “They would have gone with me if I had let them.”

“If you were that close to them, why didn’t you let them go with you?” Kisame asked.

“They’d gotten married, had kids, had jobs they loved,” She breathed in. “I didn’t want to take them from that.” She thought for a moment. “My experience was not the same as theirs. He recruited for the Academy and she’s a field secretary. Very good jobs that support their family completely, their kids have probably graduated from the Academy by now. It’s not like I do anything interesting to keep them entertained.” As she talked, her tone changed. “I left to get away from it all, not take parts of it with me.”

Kisame vocalized a response but drifted off to sleep. She turned to see him trying to look at the night sky projection.

Itachi settled back in too and grabbed Kisame’s hand when he felt it reach for him.

She brought her arm to her nose and tapped the screen again so it would move slowly but through the known star field. She stared at it and watched familiar star systems float by. She shook her head and listened to their soft breaths that let her know they were trying to sleep. She moved her arm to turn off the projection and watched the light ripple twice before blending in with her skin. She moved her arm under her head.

She closed her eyes and listened to the quiet noises in the house. Hidan was gently cuddled by Kakuzu. They spoke softly to each other.

Sasori carried Deidara to his bed. He must’ve fallen asleep reading the explosions book that he held onto. He returned to his table to work. This was a different project from the one that sat in the living room.

Konan was asleep in her room.

Tobi cuddled a pillow and pushed his face into it. The orange mask was on the floor next to him. Alpha extended her senses out in a different direction from the Leaf. She sensed another Uchiha off in this direction. That must be the brother.

Her senses rushed through the grass, passed trees and approached a structure that led underground. Her senses flew down the stairs and into the darkness. She felt like she was flying through the darkness aimlessly for far too long.

She was able to sense the Uchiha. She was getting closer. His hatred was too thick and it stopped her. She felt like she had been stopped in a hallway and couldn’t move forward. It was a lot of hatred for a child.

Alpha felt her body breathe in deeply and as she breathed out, she felt more firm footing on the floor. She was able to move forward and still retained her ghost-like movement. She looked over him as he lay on his bed.

He was powerful. But he was far too hateful to gain anymore power that would be useful for him.

She pulled back as he stirred. She breathed out and heard him say, “Who’s there?” 

She opened her eyes in the bedroom. She’d have to watch out for that one. Sasuke’s powerful.

She spent the rest of the night exploring the outside world from where she lay under the blankets with two fellow Akatsuki members that had no need to distrust her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of Alpha lore in these chapters to help establish where she's coming from. I also want Kisame and Alpha to get along, however that's mostly self-indulgent writing besides acknowledging the similarities in their backstories.


	9. A New Dawn

Kisame stirred first and discovered that Itachi had rolled over to cuddle him in his sleep. He tightened his arm around Itachi’s smaller body but tried not to wake him up. He rarely saw Itachi so peaceful. It was even rarer that he was still asleep when Kisame woke up.

His movement pulled Alpha’s senses back from the Village hidden in the Mist. Their military set up was different from the Leaf’s. It was far more violent and gauged better for her type of combat. Alpha’s concluding thoughts faded away as she opened her eyes. She closed them immediately as the sunlight hit them. She opened her eyes slowly and adjusted to the light.

She breathed in deeply and sat up. She pulled the blanket off her and tried to put it over Itachi in one movement but didn’t look to see if she was successful. Her wings dragged across the blankets and floor as she sat up. She leaned onto her knees. She felt like she had actually been on that journey physically.

It had also been a long time since she’d cast out her senses like that and for that long. She realized she hadn’t been anywhere new in a long time and hadn’t needed to do that until now. 

She stretched her arms upwards and moved her wings slowly. She brought her right one to her hand to put pressure on one of the joints that hurt.

“So who won the bet?” Kisame’s sleep ridden voice got her attention as he got up enough to lean on one elbow. He faced her but Itachi’s arm came up and reached for Kisame’s shoulder. He lowered his head to Itachi’s. “Good morning,” he said quietly and kissed him.

“I think you did since you were drinking longer.” Alpha answered and let go of her wing to let it relax on the blanket.

“But you drank more than I did,” he said as he looked up at her.

“Nah, I owe you a flight at some point.” Alpha insisted and raised her wings.

“I won’t be too heavy?” Kisame asked and looked down as he felt lips on his chest.

“Once you’re in the air and going the same velocity as me, you’ll be light enough.” Alpha explained, “It’s when we change direction, take off or land that’ll be a problem. You’ll only alter my center of gravity. It’s got nothing to do with weight.”

“Let’s do that after the meeting but you’ll probably get permission to go murder Danzo...” Kisame suggested. “Why are you laughing?” He looked down at Itachi and felt him shake from trying to laugh quietly.

Itachi turned to lie on his back. “You in the air? Big shark boy?” He patted Kisame’s cheeks then sat up to kiss one. Kisame smiled then sat up and kept the blanket over him while he waited for Itachi to settle into his lap. He rested his head on Kisame’s shoulder. Kisame wrapped his arms around Itachi in a hug. 

Alpha had thought about take off. “I’ll have to take off first then dive down to get you.” She pointed at nothing while she planned it out. “If I take off holding onto you, it’ll take too much energy to get off the ground enough to fly.”

“See? She’s got it all figured out,” Itachi pushed his sleepy face into Kisame’s neck which caused Kisame to let out a faint, deep chuckle into Itachi’s raven hair.

Alpha took a short breath and realized he wasn’t listening at all. She got up and turned to leave the room. She heard soft kissing sounds as she shut the door. Kisame made a surprised noise then laughed quietly.

“I have to make breakfast soon,” his voice implied one of them was getting teased.

“Breakfast can wait,” Itachi spoke back in a deeper tone that implied something else.

Alpha walked into the living room to find that the sunrise had slowly poured in and turned everything a cool toned reddish orange color.

“Good morning Alpha,” Konan said from a comfy seat at a large alcove type window. She had on dark loose pants and a black kimono top with a shirt underneath. She held a tea cup as she turned to Alpha. “Get some tea and join me,” She smiled and pointed to the kitchen. “I’m glad I’m not the only morning person.”

“Thanks,” Alpha turned to the kitchen to get a cup and found the teapot on a heat pad on the counter. It was covered in an insulator as well. She poured tea that smelled differently from the day before.

Alpha walked over to sit with her and tucked her legs under her like Konan did. She smelled the tea and let her hands rest in her lap. Her wings hung over the edge of the seat and nearly touched the floor. Without intending to and from a habit from a long time ago, she put the cup to her mouth and took a sip.

“So you _can_ drink tea, you just don’t want to?” She asked as she watched Alpha drink the tea.

She smiled and let the cup rest in her lap again. “Like the sake, I’ll drink tea. It’s not the same when it’s absorbed with my powers like food is.”

Konan turned to the sunrise.

Alpha glanced over at her. The reds softly passed over her skin and lit up her pale orange eyes. The paper flower in her hair reflected the sunrise colors.

Konan glanced over then turned to Alpha, “What?”

Alpha had few moments to speak her mind, and this was one of them. She found the right words to say, “You deserve more than what the world handed to you.” 

Konan breathed in a shocked breath and smiled. She took a drink from her tea. “Thank you, Alpha.” She kept smiling.

“You all do,” Alpha said quietly. “It looks like you’ve all been rejected by your villages for one reason or another.”

“We have each other,” Konan commented. “Everyone’s starting to see that, too. We’ve decided to take on the world together even though we all have different motivations for it.”

“But it all equals to war?” Alpha asked.

“It seems to be that way,” Konan answered quietly. “But how you talk about it makes me wonder if it’s the right thing to do.”

Alpha looked out the window at the dawn, “If your plans are too mobile and you can’t stop them now, then don’t. Who’s to say it won’t work out in your favor?”

Konan turned to her, “Seeing the future isn’t one of your powers is it?”

Alpha shook her head. “It is but I can only see a few seconds when it’s not something entangled in destiny,” she began to smile, “Tetra knows I’d do everything to change someone’s fate if I deemed it unfair. So he made it so I can only see a few seconds at a time.” 

“Oh, okay.” She looked into her tea. “I just wanted to know if we succeeded.”

“There will probably be a lot of casualties because it’ll be war but the outcome may be what you want it to be,” Alpha advised. “The survivors may change things. That’s all you can hope for really.” Alpha turned to see a green shape rising from the ground. She looked up to see it make a person shape with a very tall plant looking thing on its head.

“Zetsu, this is Alpha,” Konan immediately introduced. “She’s our newest member.”

Alpha looked at him. Is he a plant? A plant based person? “It’s nice to meet you,” She held out her hand.

“Alpha, do the thing…” Konan said quickly with a smile as she saw that Alpha had already raised her hand to Zetsu.

Zetsu had started to move away from Alpha’s hand, “Do what thing?” His voice was surprisingly nice.

Alpha took his hand and held it still then let her green aura wash over him.

“What is she doing?” Zetsu asked as he pulled away when simple white flowers started to bloom all over him. “What is this?” A different voice spoke. It had a harsh tone to it. He held out his arms and looked at them with his eyes through his Venus flytrap looking head structure. 

“That answers that question,” Alpha commented and held up her fist to Konan. She fist bumped her back and took a drink of her tea.

“We were thinking the same thing,” Konan smiled. Zetsu looked at us from in between the narrowing gap between the sides of the plant, “The meeting starts soon,” He glared at us, “Try to get everyone up.” He angrily faded back into the floor.

Konan laughed quietly then finished her tea. “Let’s get everyone up.”

“I’ll start breakfast!” Kisame called from the kitchen. He sounded happier than he did when he woke up. He tied an apron around his waist and turned away from them. He wore pants and a tank top that fit him loosely. 

“It’s his day for kitchen duty.” Konan told her. “Kisame, Itachi and I switch off every day.” she lowered her voice, “Itachi’s the best cook but Kisame is really good with deserts because Itachi likes them.”

Alpha smiled, “Does anyone else cook?”

Konan shook her head, “No, everyone else either doesn’t eat or will destroy the kitchen.” She spoke as she got up and left her tea cup on the counter then walked down the other hall. “Make sure Itachi gets up, he’s not a morning person.” 

“Okay,” Alpha responded and followed Konan. Alpha opened up their bedroom door and saw Itachi bundled in all the blankets. “Itachi it’s time to get up,” she waited in the doorway.

“You’re gonna have to actually get him,” Kisame called from the kitchen. “He’s really not a morning person.”

“Alright,” Alpha entered the room and heard Konan talking to Tobi. She reached for one of the blankets and started to move it.

Itachi’s hand found its way out of the pile and grabbed it then pulled it back to him. “No.” She heard his muffled voice.

Alpha squatted, “I wasn’t the one to schedule the meeting this early.” She grabbed two sides of the same edge and stood up. “And you should eat breakfast,” She spoke as she lifted the blanket with her.

Itachi protested as he rolled out of the blanket. He sat up quickly and glared at her from underneath the second blanket.

“Let’s go,” She said as she planted her feet around him. He looked up at her as her arms found his back and under his knees with a few seconds of struggle and protest. She flexed her quads and lifted him off the ground. She could feel her nanotech strain as her muscles worked. “Kisame’s making breakfast.” She turned around to leave but moved her head for Itachi to throw the blanket off him.

“Carry me!” He said and stuck a leg out.

“To the couch, yeah,” She said quickly and left the room. She walked into the kitchen and Kisame laughed a bit.

“That’s one way to make him get up,” Kisame turned back around to the stove.

Alpha set him on one side of the couch and saw Konan walk back into the living room followed by everyone else. They’re all in shorts or mid length pants with tank tops or shirtless. Hidan clung to Kakuzu for dear life but he wrapped his arm around Hidan and lifted him.

“Stand up,” His tone was different from the night before. Hidan groaned and tried but kept a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you have a morning ritual to do?”

Hidan stood up straight, “Oh yeah!” He turned and went back down the hall.

Deidara walked with Sasori and was rubbing his eyes.

Did he have to be that pretty? Her thoughts distracted by the sudden angry look he gave her.

Tobi was the last one in the little train of sleepy Akatsuki members. 

“Thanks for getting Itachi up,” Konan said, “It always takes the longest.”

“He’s the least morning person out of all of us,” Kisame said while stirring something in a pan.

“You’re welcome, Konan.” Alpha responded.

Konan was going to say something but turned to Hidan who had a black pointed stick with him, “And where are you going?”

“I have to do my morning ritual to Lord Jashin,” Hidan declared.

Alpha’s eyes flashed black. She took in a short breath and slowly turned around to the window. _Mirrikh._

She felt a wave of power that surged through the house as a portal opened for a moment.

“What was that?” Hidan asked as he stopped half way to the door.

 _Do you want to tell him his god doesn’t exist,_ The portal closed. She felt the power surge through the house. His voice sounded so much clearer. _Or should I?_

Alpha’s eyes widened and she leaned on the arm rest of the couch. She felt her skin burn through it. She also felt the power nip at her feet as she burned through the wood floor enough to leave an imprint.

She looked down and saw her skin start to turn black. She froze as she watched it spread in thin lines down her arm to her fingertips. The nanotech wasn’t covering it up. It spread quickly.

This was real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to be longer, but Mirrikh's introduction in the next chapter got too long to be a part of this one. The 'h' in Mirrikh's name is silent just in case you wanted to know how to pronounce his name.


	10. Mirrikh, The God of Death

Alpha forced herself to take steps towards the door instead of give into the shock she felt as she watched the black tendrils race across her skin to cluster on her hands. She closed her hand and looked at the door as she reached for it.

“Alpha?” Konan asked as she walked away. She looked down at the footprints. “Are you okay?” Alpha opened the door as her eyes blackened. The color shaded her from the sun and she could see everything else better. 

Out in the field stood a tall muscular white skinned man with shoulder length black hair who turned to her when she opened the door. He just looked at her. His black sclera dark blue eyes watched her use his powers. The bottom of his white kimono moved with the wind then draped around him. 

She let go of the door and started to walk slowly toward him. Each step left a black footprint in the dead grass.

She was happy at first but the closer she got, the angrier she grew. And she was determined to show him why.

He started to wave at her as she walked but saw her lower her wings and hold them behind her.

Alpha leaned forward and started to run. She raised her left hand near her face and kept her right hand to her side but streamlined with the air as she ran.

“Oh…!” Mirrikh’s eyes widened and he took a step back to run, “…shit!” He knew he had to dodge her punch or else.

Her steps got quicker as she closed the distance between them. Her power pushed through the ground and she watched his reaction as she vanished.

A moment later he slowed down as he sensed her nearby.

Alpha appeared in front of him and landed back on one foot to switch her trajectory. Her wings whipped out and pushed behind her. Her arms were already up. She twisted her body to kick his side. She felt his body concave around her leg then he was gone. Her body turned with the momentum and she dragged her foot on the ground to stop. Her wings stretched up then leveled out behind her.

Mirrikh flew back and let his body move with the kick. That kick hurt a lot more than it usually would during training. She was angry and he understood. He turned in the air and landed on his feet. He dragged his fingertips on the ground as he slowed to a stop. He stood up and watched her.

“I guess I deserved that.” He commented, put one foot back and waited for her to move. 

Her arms and hands were covered in black tendrils that writhed on top of her nanotech. Her claws had grown a few inches, pitch black and blended into her fingers.

“Where the hell have you been?” She yelled in his direction and instinctually let the power emanate from her scars on her side. It reached down her legs and covered her feet. It stretched up her torso and across her shoulders before it stopped. When it crawled up her face, it started to burn as it moved. She held out her claws like she was ready to use them.

“We agreed to give you the space you wanted,” He said as he started to walk back to her, unfazed and there was no visible damage done to him. His dark blue eyes fixed to her as he spoke. The sunlight placed shadows around his muscular build as he walked. 

She watched him speak and looked into his eyes as she vanished while he spoke. A crater erupted into the ground where she had stood.

Mirrikh felt her above him. He looked up and got his arms up just in time to block her kick.

Their power clashed. The wind pushed hard into the grass around them.

Alpha twisted in the air just enough to push through this stance and kick him into the ground.

She landed on the ground next to him. “And you chose _that_ war to associate yourself with _them_ when you told me every chance you had that you would _never_ do that?” As she spoke, wind surged out in all directions from her.

Her power surprised him a bit.

He rolled onto his back and looked up at her, “I understand why you’re angry.”

She straightened up and kept her burning gaze on him. She opened her black wings and held them up behind her to put her in the shade from the early morning sunlight. It contrasted her orange irises. 

“I’m the one that had to watch you deteriorate beneath that façade you kept up for eight years.” Mirrikh slowly stood up. He kept eye contact with her unblinking eyes. He stepped back until he was a few feet away from her. “It didn’t take you that long to recover. It was only five years…”

The wind picked up and swirled around her.

“That was not the time to leave me by myself.” Her deadpan voice strained against the power she wanted to use. She relaxed just enough to let her wings move with the wind.

His eyes widened a little in surprise, “We… I…” he sighed. “No one knew what to do except to give you space…” He spoke as he watched her wings drift towards him. He held his hand out to brush the feathers. “Alliyah really did give you wings.”

Alpha nodded and took a deep breath, “It was unexpected.” She pulled her wings back.

“As happy as they are that you’re okay, they still fear what you could become because of your power.” Mirrikh lowered his arm as he spoke and looked at her.

“Then they will live in fear over something that will never happen.” She replied and crossed her arms.

“They gave you access to all of their powers to help protect you but and it wasn’t enough…” Mirrikh didn’t want to think about it.

“Yours was.” She interrupted him. “Without yours, she would have been able to kill me.”

He knew who Alpha spoke about but also knew to change the subject further away from that.

“Well, my powers are the only powers you can fight with.” He commented and tilted his head and smiled a bit.

“Don’t get cocky.” She smiled as she spoke, “Were you part of the reason why Alliyah visited?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “But we… they wanted to give you your wings back and thought it would help bring you back.” Mirrikh knew to be careful with his words and how he phrased certain things.

She took a few steps back, “I’m not going back.”

“This isn’t permanent,” He lifted his arm. “You’ll have to go back eventually.”

“Eventually, I guess.” Her voice got quiet. She glanced behind her. She knew her friends were watching through the window.

Mirrikh watched her look behind her, “Either way, your wings ensure that you can use your powers to the extent that you can handle.” He made sure to not talk about limits. It was the best way to train because it didn’t hold her back.

He smiled, “Five years is a long time. You didn’t forget your training did you?”

“Of course not,” Alpha answered and watched him raise his hand to her.

His white skin started to turn black. It spread over half his face and his arm that he held up to her, “Good. This should be interesting then.” Black aura spewed from him towards her. 

Alpha didn’t block it. She straightened up and let it hit her chest. 

She smiled and absorbed it. It felt natural to do so. Just like the old days.

She breathed in as it molded into her powers. She breathed out black air past her left fangs as she pulled her lips back on one side of her mouth.

Her clothes flew around and threatened to burn off of her. The tendrils covered everything and molded into armor on her calves, hips and torso. Spikes pointed out of the edges in a few places that allowed her room to move. It spread to form armor over her chest and around her back. It left room for her wings. The parts of her skin that didn’t have armor turned black.

She lifted her right arm to look at it and watched the armor form a gauntlet over and off her shoulder. 

Alpha reached up and felt her horns grow in. They had a slight twist to them and curved along the shape of her skull. The tips pointed inwards and up. She held them and smiled.

She flexed her wings out and watched the black cover them. She started to laugh. The power brought back the joys of simply having this much power. A faint circle of black aura flowed around her feet.

Mirrikh moved his hands behind his head, held them there and watched her transform. His powers had started to cover him too. His white skin started to fade to black.

The dark color had left enough white to create a crude version of a skeleton pattern on his body. His smile mimicked hers. His horns stood taller and faced forward. 

“Let’s see if you’ve really forgotten your training.” He called to her as the dark color of his power engulfed her skin completely.

“How could I ever forget how much stronger this makes me?” She laughed her question as she moved her right hand out in front of her, away from Mirrikh.

She felt the heat from her powers as it gathered in the space in front of the palm of her hand. Thin spirals of flames encircled the space around her forearm. A moment later power shot out in a small explosion into a beam over the fields. Excess flames wafted around the back of her hand. It burnt a path in the grass. It grew bigger and burned into the ground as it moved.

It disappeared when she clenched her hand into a fist. She let out a laugh.

She stood with her feet at shoulder length apart and faced him. She let one knee drop and shifted her weight from foot to foot as she waited for him to speak.

“It also means,” He smiled and knew she would figure out what he was talking about. He waved his hand across the sky slightly in her direction. An arc tore open above her.

She clapped her hands and caused a shockwave of sound to race out from her as a portal opened within the arc. She raised her hands above her, “Yes it does!” She laughed as she saw the weapon she’d missed. She held her wings out behind her.

A giant black scythe fell from the sky and she reached for it with her right hand to reduce the impact it made as it landed on her shoulders. She heard the chain reaction of sections of the gauntlet shift around as it absorbed some of the impact. It was heavier than she remembered and it caused her to sink into the ground. She felt her quads strain along with her back muscles and abdominals.

This was something she’d been trained to handle.

The impact had been a bit much, though. She forced herself to fight the strain. She looked at Mirrikh and put her left arm over the handle and balanced the blade half on her left shoulder. She let it drift forward just enough so that she could balance it properly and stood up with it.

She loved the sensation of flexing her back and shoulder muscles.

She moved her wings closer to her once she was comfortable with the balance of the scythe. “Now, I can live up to calling myself the goddess of death!” Alpha nearly cackled her words and lifted the scythe with her left arm. She swung her scythe counter clockwise and let it swing behind her. This movement stole the life from the grass around her. It left streaks of black on the ground in waves that rippled out from where she was standing.

As the weight of the scythe settled, she moved it back the other way. She bent her leg and forced it upwards. She let it go and watched it spin.

“The misery in this world is overwhelming!” Her voice boomed over the land and a thin black haze flowed out with her words. She jumped in time to catch the scythe in her right hand and caught it at the edge of the handle. She forced it to swing to the right and bent her right leg to lean on the ground with her knee.

This power feeds off the unfortunate, the dying, the dead and the despair of victims of war.

She watched the energy race across the ground away from her. The energy blast from it caused waves of death to explode across the land in black shield looking waves. She let the scythe rest on the ground behind her.

She noticed Hidan’s presence as he moved closer to her. She looked behind her.

He had watched her and looked as thrilled and as wild as she felt. Kakuzu marched out the front door towards Hidan and it got her attention. His hair blew in the wind as she looked at him.

“So this is your goddess of death?” Kakuzu looked between Alpha and Hidan. His jump was subtle but she saw it as they made eye contact.

She didn’t care who he spoke to and turned back around to face Mirrikh. 

Alpha felt her muscles burn as they flexed from the strain of use for the first time in years. A few moments later the burn disappeared and the scythe had become lighter.

She looked at her hands, breathed out her dark haze of air and let the power solidify on her left arm into a forearm shield. She looked up at Mirrikh as he spoke.

“Ready?” Mirrikh turned to the side and clapped his hands together. Similar forearm shields molded onto him and reached out beyond his elbows. As he moved them apart, a sparring staff appeared between his hands. It was as long as the scythe and if Alpha remembered correctly, it was tougher than the blade of the scythe.

Alpha didn’t need to look but she knew they hadn’t gone back inside where it was safe.

She breathed out in frustration. The wind moved to her will and blasted past her.

The wind picked Hidan up off the ground and into Kakuzu who reached out to catch him. Kakuzu looked at Alpha, “We have to go back inside.” It was faint but there was fear in his voice.

Hidan tried to pull himself out of Kakuzu’s arms, “They can’t kill us!” he shouted over the next blast of wind. “We’re immortal!”

“Look around, Hidan!” Kakuzu shouted enough to get him to shut up. “This is a battle that is beyond our abilities. This _will_ kill us.” He glared at Hidan, “I can’t stitch you back up if you’ve been turned to ash like everything else has.” He looked down and stepped back as more of the grass turned black.

Hidan looked down at the black spiral moving towards them in the grass and kept his mouth shut. He looked at Alpha and watched the black circle reach into the air and spin faster around her feet. It burned through the grass and into the dirt. Black sparks started to sporadically fly away from it. She didn’t turn around to them.

“Okay,” Hidan didn’t protest anymore as he watched Alpha start to move her scythe.

She’d stopped trying to make them go back inside and focused on her opponent. She lifted her scythe as the other spoke.

He knew Kakuzu was right but would never admit it.

Kakuzu walked uneasily back to the front door and watched them as if they’d attack them if he turned around or made the wrong move.

“Let’s make this an even playing field!” Mirrikh shouted and jumped up. Hidan watched him spin the staff above his head and followed his movements as he hit it on the ground.

Kakuzu got the door open and glanced back to see a larger spiral of black spread across the grass faster than the first. It turned the grass to ash then it blew in the wind that followed.

He hesitated in the doorway as he saw a thin line of purple fire ignite around the perimeter of the house. It stopped the black from spreading further.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Alpha protected them from her own powers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lore: Mirrikh actually gets an explanation in the fic as it goes on, but like the other gods of the elements, Mirrikh trained Alpha with his powers. However, unlike the other gods and goddesses, some make an appearance in later chapters, these two created a bond that may be something more than mentor/apprentice. I've had a lot of fun exploring how they interact in this fic. In my novel series, where they're from, it's not a central part of the story when he trains her. 
> 
> Also, because events referenced to Alpha's past are important things that happened in my novel series, they're spoilers for a series that isn't published but is plotted out for the most part. And I may alter some things, not that anyone but me will know the difference. 
> 
> I guess what I'm saying is that my OCs and Alpha's past were not invented for this fic, these events happened in the novel series but in a different way because spoilers are a thing here. For example, Mirrikh would never leave her alone like he did for the fic. It's OOC for him. He cares about her too much. Canonly, she also has a different partner but this fic is really getting me to change my mind about that.


	11. Alpha's Type of Sparring Match

Kakuzu pushed the door shut and fell to the floor. He covered his fearful look with his hands and leaned into the door.

Hidan caught himself as Kakuzu fell and then settled in between his legs. He put his hands on Kakuzu’s shoulders and felt him shaking. As reality hit, his voice shook, “wh.. why so shaky?” He had tried not to stutter but it happened anyway.

Kakuzu’s arms wrapped around Hidan and tightened. His whisper was quiet enough for Hidan to hear but he didn’t want anyone else to hear him, “I’ve been alive for almost ninety god damn years and I’ve never felt such an intense desire to survive.”

Hidan looked up at the others who had gathered at the window.

Breakfast had been ignored.

Itachi held onto his teacup tightly but ignored it as he watched her from the kitchen window next to Kisame. 

Kisame looked over Itachi’s head out the window and leaned to watch the fight. He didn’t know what to think about any of this but wrapped his arms around Itachi.

“She really went easy on you,” Kisame whispered.

Itachi slowly nodded his head. “But she would actually be able to kill Danzo with power like that.” He whispered back, “It might even be easy for her.” He put one hand on Kisame’s arm and continued to watch her. 

Konan focused on Alpha but glanced at Kakuzu and Hidan at the door. She had an ungodly amount of power but knew... Alpha had actively protected them… She looked out the window. Alpha could have easily not…

“Do you still want to fight her?” Sasori whispered to Deidara. His arm held his blonde and knew he regretted that he even talked about it. 

Deidara’s hand tightened in Sasori’s but didn’t realize he’d grabbed it. “I’m glad she’s on our side.” He didn’t answer the question but spoke loud enough to break the tension.

Tobi shifted on the table, “Senpai is really powerful.” He leaned forward onto his hands to see between Konan and Deidara.

The ground shook as Alpha’s scythe hit the ground. Mirrikh reappeared nearby as she pulled the scythe up and looked in his direction. She didn’t touch the ground before vanishing.

Hidan jumped into Kakuzu a little more as the ground shook, “I don’t want to watch… if that’s alright with you.” He whispered and waited for the shaking to stop. He sucked in a quick shaky breath and let out a faint sob into Kakuzu’s shoulder.

Kakuzu moved his hand onto the back of Hidan’s head, “None of us knew she could do this shit…” He tried to comfort his lover. “But she did save us. I don’t think she wanted to kill us.”

Kisame took a step as he leaned too far, “can’t wait for this explanation.”

“She better have a good one,” Pain spoke as he walked up to the table and stood next to Konan. He glanced at Kakuzu and Hidan as he walked by them.

“Do you think senpai lied about not wanting to go to war?” Tobi wondered out loud and watched her pin Mirrikh to the ground. The ground shook again. She hovered over him as he grabbed the handle of the scythe.

“No,” Pain answered. “There is such a thing as having too much power, as she’s said before.” Konan leaned into him. “Alpha seems to know that first hand.”

She lifted the scythe and Mirrikh off the ground then shoved him into it. A crater formed underneath him. Another shockwave rattled the house

Pain wrapped his arm around her as they watched Mirrikh throw her into the air. “Did he just take her scythe?”

Mirrikh held her scythe to the side and watched her angle herself in the air. As she fell she held her hands together and aimed with her forearm shields.

He held up the scythe a moment later to block the shields. He waited until her feet touched the ground before he pushed her back.

One shield molded around the blade while she moved her right arm to grab the handle of the scythe just under the blade.

Black lightning jolted from her through the handle to his hands then back to her. Each time it hit her hand it let out a shockwave across the ground. Three consecutive shockwaves hit the house. The last one lifted Mirrikh off the ground and threw him back.

He held himself off the ground and levitated into the sky.

Alpha watched him move and lowered herself to the ground. She felt the power gather underneath her and used it to launch into the sky. She left behind a crater in the ground and looked across the sky at Mirrikh. She held her wings out.

She swung her scythe in his direction. She wasn’t quite accustomed to a heavy weapon in the air but knew she would get used to it. As long as she kept up with counterbalance, she’d keep control of it.

He held his staff once more and faced her. His staff expanded at the top to create its own scythe shape.

She swung hers from one side to the other to launch a black wave of power. She pulled back against the weight to slow it down and so she didn’t spin with it.

How heavy it felt irritated her. She felt slow.

Mirrikh deflected its wave of power by hitting it to the side.

Alpha watched the black wave blast into the ground and tear through the trees.

The blast pushed Mirrikh and caused him to look back. A moment later he turned back to her.

“Let’s finish this!” Alpha shouted and spun her scythe in a circle. She quickly got used to the imbalance of the blade and counteracted the push and pull as it moved.

A small orb of black formed in the center and expanded.

She watched his eyes widen. She learned this one without him around. It was with a training staff but the concept was the same.

Alpha pulled her hands back suddenly to let the blade spin on its own. She watched it spin then grabbed the staff with one hand to stop it abruptly. She pulled the staff back then gently swung it towards Mirrikh.

The orb exploded forward into a beam of black energy. It screeched in the air as it sliced through like lighting.

Alpha smiled and watched Mirrikh vanish right before the beam hit him.

The energy it generated annihilated everything in its path. It left a much larger and much deeper burnt trench in the ground. The force of the blast pushed her back a bit but blasted past the house. She could hear the trees creak in force of the wind.

She let the scythe relax in her grip but held it to her side. She looked to the air next to her and watched Mirrikh appear.

“That’s not quite what I had in mind for a sparring match but its close enough,” he smiled as he watched the black beam fade away. He pointed at the trench and scarred tree line. “Look at all that damage,” He looked around at the black ground underneath them and pointed more. He didn’t stop pointing until she looked at it. He watched her roll her eyes.

“Great,” She put her arm up and shoved her scythe in his direction. She let go when he grabbed it then leaned back into the air. “Now I have to fix it.”

He looked at her as she fell to the ground, “I told you it was just a sparring match!” He shouted after her.

She lay back straight and crossed her legs. Her wings relaxed and flowed with the fall. She held her middle fingers up at him with a snarl. 

He stayed in the sky and held the scythe on his shoulder as his black power faded away to bring back his white skin. He watched her. He loved this part more than anything.

As she fell the black power retreated completely from across her body and she closed her eyes.

She turned to land on the ground on her feet. She faced the damage and stretched out her whitening wings.

Their last match had ended with encouragement from Mirrikh. All he wanted was for her to thrive with his power.

Alpha smiled.

As she thought about it, warmth bubbled inside her and expanded all over her body. Her wings turned green and were covered by the green aura as well. She was lifted off the ground enough to hover over it. 

She lifted her arms and breathed in. She watched the green haze rush out in all directions as she breathed out.

The black ash was immediately overgrown with new grass as the wave of green aura touched it. It grew in sync with the wave of power and she watched the black disappear.

Alpha crossed her arms over her chest. As she felt the power grow and concentrate she saw her claws turn green and watched the dark green leafy tattoo spread down her right arm. Vines covered her fingers. Then she threw her arms out ferociously.

Violent green waves blasted from her. It raced across the ground and reached over the trees and dirt that she had destroyed.

She could feel the trees come back to life as they grew back unnaturally fast. Her eyes darted around as she followed the power and used it to see what she was doing.

Alpha lifted one hand slightly and watched the trench in the ground level off. Grass grew once again on top of the dirt. She lowered her arms and blinked until her eyes returned to normal.

Mirrikh stood next to her. “Ceteareth would have loved to see that.” He turned to her and saw that her horns had retained a green tint and sprouted some flowers in a few places. The rest of her outfit had returned to the loose Akatsuki clothing she was wearing before.

With a heavy sigh, she sat down.

He sat down next to her and watched the field with her. He looked at the flowers that bloomed. “Do you think you scared your new friends?”

“Oh I have no idea but I'm prepared to leave if I need to.” Alpha replied. “You know as well as I do people are scared of power they cannot control.”

“True.” Mirrikh replied quietly. “But you can control it.” He looked away from her, “The field is pretty.”

Alpha sighed. She laid back and rested her head on her arms.

“Would you go to war for them?” Mirrikh asked quietly. He looked behind him and back at her. “To protect them?”

“You know as well as I that I cannot change the course of fate.” She sighed, “Tetra would kill me.”

He leaned closer to her and lowered his voice, “You’re out of range for his jurisdiction here. There’s a whole new set of rules you won’t want to learn.” He sat back up and rested his head on his fist. “But, you wouldn’t get in trouble… if you messed with it.”

When she didn’t reply, he reached for her horns. “Your horns are still showing.”

She looked at him and felt her horns fade away. Everything was normal again.

“Just don’t forget you need my power for that political purge you want to do,” Mirrikh commented.

“Oh I know. I’m glad I have your powers for that,” She replied. She heard someone approach and she looked up to see Konan as she knelt to sit next to her.

She watched Mirrikh as she sat down. 

Pain stood behind her. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to war?”

Alpha sat up. “In my defense, I didn’t know I could use my powers to that extent.” She pointed to Mirrikh but didn’t know how to further explain things.

“But you introduced yourself as the goddess of life and death.” Itachi had come over to sit with them. He looked at Alpha and waited for her reply.

Mirrikh watched Itachi but didn’t move. He could tell that Alpha had used her healing powers on him. He could sense remnants of her power still on his lungs. Her powers were still healing him. Why would she do that? She’d only been there for less than a day.

“Yes,” she turned to him. “I’m not quite sure how to explain it actually.”

“Her other powers are non combative.” Mirrikh spoke up and got everyone’s attention which surprised him. “The other elemental gods are…” He paused.

Alpha raised one hand, “they don’t fight. So their powers aren’t inherently used for fighting.” She paused, “but they’re strong enough to use for fighting.” She looked up at Kisame as he sat down near Itachi.

“Who’s he?” Tobi asked as he stopped near her.

“He’s my mentor Mirrikh, the god of death.” Alpha answered as she looked at the masked man.

He dropped to the ground and bounced in place for a moment, “What else can my senpai do?”

She waited for Kakuzu to sit too before continuing. Hidan sat behind him.

Alpha looked at Itachi as she spoke, “I can draw the air out of someone’s lungs using my wind power. But it doesn’t have any inherent death abilities. The same goes for water and ice, granted ice can be more dangerous if used properly.”

Deidara quietly sat down next to Konan. Sasori sat near him.

“Fire burns, as it does.” She held out her hand to show a small blaze then shifted focus to her other hand where jolts of light pulsed in a sphere. “I’ve used electricity to fuck up nervous systems and in turn that burns up internal organs which would then burn the person alive,” She tossed it between her hands like a ball. “But it will do what it wants to without my influence and can be unstable if I’m not completely concentrating on it.” The lighting disappeared as she spoke. 

“However, none of these abilities can kill life on its own. I have to make them do that.” She straightened up where she sat, “But turning pain and suffering into a power to use against all that lives and everything in between me and my target,” She paused. “That’s in its own league of power.”

She didn’t explain further and wanted to wait for the information to settle.

Mirrikh watched their faces as she explained. Normally, she would have been judged for her power by now. But not these people. They looked either curious or a bit fearful of her. It was a very different reaction from when she would explain her power in the past.

Kisame acted like he wanted to ask a question as he looked at her.

Alpha faced him. “For your information, that was a full scale sparring match. I used to train like that all the time.” She turned to smile at Konan, “So when I say a room is too small for a sparring match, I mean it.”

Konan sighed, “Honestly I don’t know how you would have explained that earlier without us seeing it first.” She looked at Alpha, “But you green power that grows flowers and helps you eat, where does that fall in all this?”

“It is a completely non-combatant ability. It’s meant to fix and heal, not fight.” Alpha explained as simply as she could. It does have its limits. All her powers had limits. “The power of life is my primary power. It’s the one I use the most and the one I know the best.”

No one had any more questions and there was a mixed reaction from the group. 


	12. Intentions

Alpha looked up at Pain and waited for him to speak.

“Well, you’re a part of the Akatsuki now,” Pain spoke to break the silence he didn’t expect. “You follow my orders over whatever else you want to do.” He looked at Mirrikh, “I assume you’re staying so that applies to you too.”

Alpha nodded, “Mirrikh is not the best at following orders.”

Pain looked at him.

Mirrikh sighed heavily. “I’m a god. I don’t follow orders.”

“I understand that, but you will follow mine while you are here.” Pain demanded of him.

“He’ll work with me just fine,” Alpha defended Mirrikh. “Does that work for you?”

Pain looked at her and nodded once. “When Zetsu gets here we can start the meeting.” Pain commented and sat up straight. He put two fingers up to his mouth and closed his eyes.

Itachi smiled and Kisame laughed.

“What?” Alpha asked.

“That’s how he communicates with the rest of us.” Itachi started.

“Yeah, leader speaks into our heads and we do what he says.” Tobi said while he held the sides of his head.

“Why didn’t I hear anything?” Alpha asked Pain.

“You don’t use chakra so my eyes won’t work on you. You’ll have to be around another member unless you’re off on a solo mission and we know we won’t need to contact you.” Pain thought about it as he talked. How would he be able to contact her?

Zetsu rose up out of the ground near them. “Do I still have flowers on me?” He asked for anyone to answer.

“I don’t see any,” Konan answered genuinely but also smiled.

“What do you mean?” Pain asked Zetsu, “Flowers?” He looked at Konan for a moment.

Zetsu rose completely out of the ground and sat there. He pointed at Alpha, “She grew flowers on me,” and then Konan. “And she encouraged it,” the other voice from Zetsu spoke.

Pain looked at Zetsu to listen but turned to the others on the grass. “This was supposed to be a formal meeting but this will do.” Pain ignored what Zetsu had said because it made Konan smile. “First, you’ve all met her and just watched her do,” he raised his arms, “Whatever that was. But I’d like to formally welcome Alpha into the Akatsuki as an official member.”

Alpha nodded her head once.

“Next, Alpha,” Pain addressed her directly. “It has come to my attention that you want to kill Danzo.”

“Yes.” She answered.

“What will this accomplish?” He asked in a tone that required a serious answer.

She breathed in, “It’ll eliminate a corrupt person of power, it’ll count as revenge for Itachi and then,” She gestured to Kakuzu, “He said something about him being a pain in the ass, which I believe.” she knew she couldn’t tell him that she found murder to be enjoyable in certain battles and she also knew this would be one of those battles.

“Okay.” Pain said. “I didn’t have to think about this too much but I approve of this mission and I don’t have any restrictions except for completing this mission out of uniform so we can’t be connected to his murder.”

She nodded, “understood.”

“How are you going to kill him?” Deidara asked. “By explosion?”

“No, that’ll be too easy.” Alpha responded. “But I have to visit first, scout it out to check out the layout and estimate the security around him.”

“The Anbu might be child’s play to you based on how you fight,” Itachi commented. “But don’t underestimate them and don’t let the entire village get after you, you know?”

“That wouldn’t be wise. I’ve got one target.” Alpha turned to him. “Just one.”

“You’ll need another outfit which we can work out after the meeting.” Konan told her. She looked at Pain.

“We are ready to start our Jinchuriki missions in a few days. After we begin, we won’t be here very much afterwards,” Pain announced. “Additional missions will overlap our plan and that won’t leave much time to relax once we get started.” 

Alpha tuned out most of the meeting since she wouldn’t have any role to play in actually getting the Jinchuriki. 

“Does senpai have a job to do?” Tobi asked and leaned into her. He looked up at Pain.

Pain glanced at Mirrikh as he looked like he tried to burn through Tobi’s skull with his eyes. “She will assist if she needs to.” Pain answered and looked at Tobi, “You’ll work with Konan and me since you don’t have a partner.” 

Alpha held her arm out to push him off of her and heard a much deeper voice grumble in disappointment from Pain’s comment before Tobi’s usual voice spoke up, “Wouldn’t it make sense to have her show us more of her powers?”

Pain’s purple rinnegan eyes glared at Tobi and caused him to shrink behind Alpha. “No. my orders are final.” He turned to leave but he walked further into the field outside of the hideout. “That concludes our meeting. Konan,”

“Yes,” She spoke from beside Alpha.

The others got up and started to go back to the hide out.

Itachi and Kisame waited for Alpha but saw that she had her attention on Pain. They were both quiet and neither wanted to ask what she was doing.

Kisame could easily tell that the stress of Alpha’s mission had started to get to Itachi. He hid it well but Kisame could see the worry in Itachi’s facial expression as he put his arm around Itachi and gently guided him inside.

“She’ll be inside soon.” Kisame spoke quietly and watched Itachi look at her as they walked away, “She won’t just leave immediately for the Leaf.”

Itachi looked up at Kisame, “I want to talk to her before she leaves.” His hand tightened around Kisame’s as they headed for the door.

“She won’t leave without saying goodbye.” Kisame commented, “She knows how important this is to you.” At least she should. Kisame held the door open for Itachi and followed him inside.

Mirrikh and Alpha stood in the grass and watched Pain and Konan talk.

“Help her get ready for her mission,” He spoke a little louder and she nodded.

Konan looked at Alpha to speak as Pain turned to leave.

“Pain,” Alpha spoke up as the four of them were the only ones left outside. She waited for him to turn around. “I’d like to meet you in person.”

Konan grabbed her arm as a warning. 

“You want to meet me in person?” He asked. He sounded genuinely surprised and looked at Konan.

“Yes.”

“Alright. Konan, you’re coming too.” Pain said and turned to leave. This worked out in his favor. 

“I can teleport if that makes it easier,” Alpha offered new information. “But I need to know where I’m going.”

“We’re going to the Village Hidden in the Rain.” Konan informed her and raised two fingers to her lips before turning into a whirlwind of paper.

Alpha watched Pain teleport. She sat down in the grass and put her fists together. She sat up before she breathed out and followed him with her senses.

Mirrikh sat next to her and watched her glowing eyes. She was using a version of teleportation where only her consciousness changed locations. She had described it as casting out her senses when she explained it to him. It was derived from how she can use his powers, a consciousness link.

Alpha can connect to the other gods in the same way but it’s more of a last resort “she will die if she doesn’t” type of situation. He smiled as he thought about how she trained with Salicyte, the god of Ice, in that consciousness link. That had been a fun day.

He wondered if she knew how to combine their powers and concluded that she may know how to do that but he would wait to ask.

Mirrikh leaned back on one hand and waited.

She opened her eyes into a dim room and found herself looking at a very thin man connected through several spikes out of his back to a contraption that had legs of its own. His dark red hair covered one eye and he watched her. She knelt on one knee and kept her head down.

“You really can teleport.” Nagato seemed surprised. Konan arrived in a cloud of paper.

“I’m not here physically. I’m still sitting in the grass back at the hideout.” Alpha spoke without looking up.

“Thank you for at least respecting me,” Nagato commented. “You can look up at me and start talking since you called this meeting.”

She sat down and crossed her legs. “I wanted you to know where my allegiances lie and what my motives are.” She wanted Pain to know that she wouldn’t betray him even if it may seem like she might.

“Let’s start with telling me what pain you have?” Nagato asked and assumed someone with her power had pain she lived with, “We are driven by the pain we live through.”

Alpha felt her sternum. “As for physical pain,” she pulled down the middle of her top to reveal a mass of black tendrils writhing over a hard object that was embedded into her sternum. She’d assumed that Mirrikh’s power had something to do with its return.

“This was a _gift_ from my mentor.” She sneered at the idea of it being a gift. “It’s a gem that holds the power he stole from me over the years of my training.” she let her shirt go. “It’s all I have left of him. Right before he died, he embedded it here.” She pointed to her sternum with her thumb. “The black stuff is just from my body’s reaction to it, which is really Mirrikh’s power that is protecting me from my own power.” 

“How did your mentor die? If you don’t mind me asking,” Konan asked quietly.

She straightened up, “I killed him.” She spoke quickly and her voice echoed a bit in the small room. “He was responsible for turning me into the war machine I described myself as. So I turned it against him.”

“You turned your pain into hatred,” Nagato spoke. “Just like the rest of us.”

“I could have let it destroy me. I could have… become the war machine he intended for me to become by allowing myself to use this power.” Alpha continued. “But I didn’t.”

“Why not?” Nagato sounded surprised. “With that much power you could change so much.” She knew he didn’t understand. “You could do what you needed to do.”

She tilted her head a bit and spoke gently. “War creates more war. The best way to stop war is to stop the cycle. You have to gain enough influence to make the decision to stop the cycle. Then you’ll be able to move on without hatred.” Alpha explained from her own experience. As she spoke Konan put her hand on Nagato’s.

Nagato was quiet for so long that Konan looked at him to make sure he was okay.

“How?” His voice reflected a question he needed answered.

“Forgive. Move on. Be better than those who started the cycle and those who continue it.” Alpha paused to think. “I’ve become this ‘monster villain in the shadows’ with no intention of attacking. But I’m the only one who knows I won’t attack as long as the others maintain the peace.”

“How much pain did you endure before you…?” Nagato started asking his next question but Alpha cut him off abruptly enough to startle him.

“Everyone’s,” Her voice dominated and echoed in the small room.

“Along with my own,” She continued in a calmer tone. “I can absorb pain, hatred and anger from the atmosphere. I can feel it all at once. Even now I feel yours and I want to cry. Itachi’s makes me want to kill an elder of his home village I’ve never been to.” She paused as she thought of her new team.

“Kisame’s skills and abilities were rejected by his village ultimately because he was too dangerous and they feared being able to control him, though I can sense his motives are shifting.” Alpha really wanted to help him too. She understood more than anyone else what it was like to be viewed like that. 

“We all can see that,” Nagato felt himself smile a little bit. She understood.

“Kakuzu still feels alone in this world even though he has Hidan now and is a part of the Akatsuki.” Alpha continued. “To keep it simple, Hidan and Deidara just need more attention for the things they love doing even though they’re both hazardous in their own ways.” She paused, “I’m still trying to figure out Sasori. He doesn’t talk much.” 

Konan looked at Nagato then back at her.

“And I don’t know what’s going on with Tobi.” She put one hand up a little bit. “He’s got a mess going on in his subconscious.”

Alpha gathered her thoughts in the silence and looked at the ground, “I have the power to take away pain,” She looked at Nagato. “And that’s what I want to do while I’m here.” She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed out. “The powers I gained from my own pain became increasingly violent but I decided a long time ago that I would never let anyone else endure pain like this.”

She closed her eyes and felt the black tendrils reach around her body and up her neck. “I absorb pain and use it as a weapon but I can also feel the source of that pain… whatever it is.” Her voice faded a little bit as the power covered her.

Alpha looked up at Nagato with solid black eyes. “This power is why I call myself the Goddess of Death. I have the power to stop an army but in doing so I’ve likely created orphans and widows who will feel pain because I decided to wipe out an army in a matter of seconds.”

“You have the power to do whatever you want whenever you want.” Konan started, “Why are you here?”

Alpha blinked and opened her eyes to reveal that they’d turned gold and glowed. “The reason why I haven’t left is because the deaths of the Akatsuki members are unnecessary,” Alpha started and glanced at Konan. “However, their deaths will start to turn the gears of war as others get involved in it and as your plans move forward.”

Konan looked up at Nagato then at Alpha. “Will you let us die?”

“I don’t want to but I am not entirely sure what I can do to change fate…Especially for so many people at one time with such strong ties to the outcome…” Her voice trailed off and her eyes returned to normal. “It’s… going to be something I’ll have to figure out…”

“But?” Konan asked as she heard it in Alpha’s unspoken statement.

“But they have Naruto Uzumaki who isn’t going to stop until there is peace.” Alpha says as her eyes brighten and partially illuminated the room. “He will bring peace, though it won’t be perfect.”

“Naruto.” Nagato repeated thoughtfully. 

“How do we die?” Konan asked. There was a slight panic in her voice. “You know how we die, don’t you?”

“It starts with your attack on the Hidden Leaf village to retrieve the nine tails Jinchuriki. It will force your hand. It is unavoidable.” Alpha answered quietly and looked at the space between them to project what she could see.

Konan looked at Nagato then Alpha, “Then we leave everything to Naruto.” She almost smiled. But it faded when Nagato spoke again.

“How does Tobi die? You didn’t mention him.”

She lowered her voice, “he doesn’t.” the gold in her eyes disappeared. “Not in the same way the others do.” She felt like she shouldn’t talk about it. “He…”

“He’s behind the war,” Nagato finished for her. “We know.”

Konan nodded, “And technically, he’s the leader.”

Alpha looked at her claws in silence for a moment, “I always just want to kill him. But I can’t. This war is…”

Konan laughed quietly. “I think her alliance is with us.” She whispered to Nagato.

“…It’s too important to the fate of this world,” Alpha finished her statement. “After Naruto wins there is peace, fractured peace, but peace nonetheless.” She nodded to them, “My alliance is with you. That is correct.”

Nagato nodded, “Earlier when you were fighting with Mirrikh, we all quietly agreed that we were glad you’re on our side.”

Alpha raised her eyebrows and sighed, “I actually don’t know what I would have done if I’d landed in a village instead of in front of your hideout, or if Kisame and Itachi weren’t returning from a mission at that moment.”

“What would you have done?” Nagato asked, “Theoretically speaking, I suppose.”

“If I’d landed in a village, I assume I would have been attacked, forced into a battle I would have easily won before leaving.” She shrugged her shoulders, “Something like that.” 

Nagato and Konan exchanged another look.

“Well,” Nagato pulled his hand out of the machine it was in and held his hand out to her. “I’m glad to know that we see the same thing.”

She stood up and walked over to him. She steadied his arm as she held his hand.

“Two gods in agreement,” He commented and loosened his grip on her hand, “Report to me when your mission is complete.” He grabbed Konan’s hand as she reached for his.

Alpha nodded and looked at Konan, “I’ll see you back at base.” She closed her eyes and faded away from their view.

“Konan,” Nagato turned to her slightly, “I have a feeling that she will be the greatest asset to our goal even if she doesn’t intend on getting involved very much.”

“I think so too,” Konan quietly agreed with him.

“When you’re able, tell her that we do not trust Tobi but she has ours.” Nagato instructed before he let go of her hand, put it back in the machine and closed his eyes.

“She certainly does have our trust,” Konan commented and disappeared in paper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part of the plot came about because I realized that Pain should know where Alpha's alliance is, which Konan learns too. I tried to explain a few things about her powers here as well but I also don't want to give much away even though I gave more background than I wanted to however there's more coming. Itachi's anxiety is about to get really bad for the next several chapters.


	13. Preparations

Alpha opened her eyes and lowered her arms.

“How’d it go?” Mirrikh asked. He sat across from her and straightened up when she blinked.

“It went fine.” She lowered her voice, “We established where our allegiances lie.”

“Which is good, I assume.” He replied, “At least you won’t be fighting about what to do.”

“We weren’t fighting before but he is the leader and we do what he says,” Alpha informed Mirrikh. “I’ll do what he says and you do what I say because I know you won’t follow his orders.” 

“Your orders have always just been suggestions I agree with.” Mirrikh leaned his head on one hand, resting his elbow on his knee.

“Whatever you want to call it,” she pointed between the two of them. “We get along with them.”

“For how long?” Mirrikh asked. “This is a lot more people than I’m used to getting along with.”

“As long as you’re not unreasonable, you don’t need to try to be everyone’s friend,” She concluded. “Just don’t get on anyone’s bad side, like what I’m doing.”

“While you go off to do your political purge, what will I be doing?” Mirrikh asked as she stood up.

“I need you here and ready for my signal when I’m ready to make my move.” She helped him up. “We’ll do the meditation power transfer thing.”

“Oh is that your plan? To just… annihilate him?” Mirrikh looked at her as he stood up. 

“Yes,” She put her fists on her hips and stood her ground. “That is my plan. Unless you have a better idea on how to kill an old and guarded corrupted elder of a village.”

He stepped back, “You have more fun with that kind of thing than I do. So you do what you want.” He paused, “I put your scythe away, in case you would look for it.”

Alpha walked along side him to the hideout.

Tobi threw the door open and ran over to her.

Mirrikh watched him trot over to Alpha. His eyes followed that orange mask. And he did not like the look in the eye that met his. 

Tobi looked at Mirrikh then at Alpha, “Tobi wants to know if your friend is too dangerous to be around us.”

Alpha put her arm out in front of Mirrikh as he took an additional step forward while she had stopped. She felt her wings move up just enough to get Tobi’s attention. She watched Tobi step back. “As you’ve seen,” she got Tobi’s attention back to her. “I’m more dangerous than Mirrikh is.”

“She’s got a shorter temper than I do.” Mirrikh commented and moved her arm away from him, then reached back to her wings to fold them back against her back.

“Tobi!” Konan called from the doorway. “Alpha needs to get ready for her mission!” 

Tobi straightened up and turned around to run back to the door. “Yes, lady Konan.” He commented as he went inside.

Alpha and Mirrikh walked up to the entrance. Alpha waved her hand and Mirrikh saw the purple fire fade away. He looked at her then at Konan.

“I’ll help you pick an outfit for the shinobi village.” Konan commented, “You can’t go looking like an Akatsuki member having a day off.” She looked up at Mirrikh as he passed her.

Alpha nodded to Konan and walked inside to see Kisame cleaning up the kitchen. Itachi sat on the counter only to jump off when Konan turned to their direction.

Kakuzu looked at a newspaper at the table. Hidan sat next to him.

“Okay, retired war god,” Kakuzu looked at her and put the paper down. “What are your basic rules you always follow when you go into a battle?”

Hidan looked at her too then looked at Mirrikh. He looked at Kakuzu then back at Mirrikh. “Your eyes are similar.”

Alpha turned to Mirrikh. He was still looking at Hidan. “What are you looking at?”

Mirrikh looked at her, “Nothing important.” He mumbled quietly. Black footprints distracted him. They were hers from when he got there. He turned to Kakuzu as Alpha spoke.

Alpha looked at Kakuzu, “I have three rules of warfare that only apply to me.” She held up her hand to count as she spoke. “My first rule is to never start a war you can’t win.”

Kakuzu chuckled as he listened to her. “Well that would only apply to you.” It wasn’t useful combat advice that he’d hoped for.

She smiled a little and continued. “My second rule is to always be the smartest one on the battlefield.” Alpha announced, “It saves time if you can outsmart your opponent as quickly as possible. It also helps to know your enemy before engaging in combat but that’s usually not the case.”

Kakuzu looked at Hidan, “Well that leaves you out, Hid.”

“But you’d be the smartest one on the battlefield by default.” Hidan snapped back and was met with an amused facial expression from Kakuzu. He turned to Alpha, “Then what’s your third rule?”

She crossed her arms and tilted her head, “always have the most powerful players on your side.”

“So that’d be you.” Kisame commented from the kitchen.

She turned around and gave him a thumbs-up. “They’re my rules of warfare for a reason.” 

Mirrikh listened to how they interacted with her and crossed his arms.

“And by being the fastest one on the battlefield,” Itachi started and got her attention. “Moving faster than the enemy can think, that would make you the smartest?”

Mirrikh turned a little to look at him out of the corner of his eye, “She’s got the fastest reaction time I’ve ever seen.”

Kisame nodded and took a breath to speak but hesitated when Mirrikh looked at him.

Alpha felt Mirrikh’s agitation, “I’ve got a village elder to murder. I don’t have time to talk.” Alpha said quickly and walked across the living room when. She stepped up to the hallway and made her way to the bedroom.

She walked to the closet to get her swords. She swung the sheath over her shoulders but didn’t clip it together. She held onto the straps with her hand.

“I’m here to help you get ready,” Konan commented in the doorway. She turned to walk down the hall and waited for Alpha to follow.

Alpha turned to face Mirrikh from the hallway. “Mirrikh!” She reached for one sword with her hand and held the handle as he looked at her. “Don’t fight anybody.”

He put his hands up as he saw her reach for her sword. “Not every reaction I have to new people is to fight them.” He watched the handle give off a faint red glow and moved a leg back.

She paused, “Where would I have learned it from then?” She smiled and let her sword go, the glow faded away. She turned around to follow Konan around the corner of the hall.

Konan opened the door to the clothes room and led her inside. She quietly closed the door and turned on the lights. She watched Alpha move her wings… into… the scars on her back.

The feathers deteriorated as they moved into her skin. She frowned in disgust a little as she saw the wing bones settle under her skin.

Alpha turned around, “Oh, I’m sorry. I should have warned you. It’s really gross to watch that.”

“How does that work?” Konan asked. “Your scars never healed for that reason?”

Alpha nodded, “I hate putting them away but I’m trying to look human.” She started to take off her shirt and looked at the options. “You recommended the mesh shirt right?”

Konan looked at the flawless skin on her back, except for the scars where her wings were, there wasn’t anything that marked her skin. “Uh, yes. I did.” She walked over to the bar on one wall and pushed the regular shirts out of the way. Konan picked one she thought would fit and held onto the hanger then tossed it to Alpha.

Alpha put the mesh top on and it hung off her chest. She watched Konan reach for a crop top and tossed it to her.

“That will suit you better.” Konan smiled, “It gives you the ‘I’m stronger because I have more mesh showing’ signal.”

“What does that even mean?” She asked as she put it on. “I look like Deidara except I have boobs.” she raised her arms. “And biceps.”

“It’s just a thing like carrying a sword.” Konan answered and gestured to her stomach. “And your abs are mostly showing. Didn’t you arrive here with shorts? You could wear those.”

“I don’t want this to come off as rude, but do you mind getting them for me? They’re in the closet…” Alpha asked as politely as she could.

“Sure, but only if you tell me why your skin looks so perfect for being in so much war,” Konan replied.

Alpha held her hand up and watched the seam line around her hand light up orange. Each half of her nanotech lifted off her skin down to her elbow then flopped down. She showed Konan the scars covering her hand and forearm. She held the nanotech in her other hand.

There were more scars than clear skin. Some scars were deeper than others and there were rings of scars around her wrist and near her elbow.

“I wear a nanotech suit of armor that blends in with my skin, keeps me insulated and protected from attacks.” Alpha explained, “And it covers my scars.”

Konan stepped over to her and gently moved her hand over one of the deeper scars on the side of her forearm. “But you can heal yourself can’t you?”

“Scars don’t heal.” Alpha answered, “Well, I haven’t figured out how to make scars heal.” She watched Konan look at the burn scar on the back of her hand but she didn’t ask about it.

The nanotech glowed as it sealed itself back up. It rippled an orange color until her skin looked clear.

“I’ll be right back,” Konan spoke quietly and turned to the door. She paused, “Oh, Itachi. Did you need something?”

“I wanted to ask Alpha a few questions about her mission.” His low voice sounded more serious than when she usually spoke to him.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be right back.” Konan let him in then shut the door after she left.

Alpha turned around to look at him. She had taken down her hair to straighten it up.

“You’re going in that?” Itachi asked as he looked at her outfit then at how long her hair was.

“That was your important question?” Alpha responded with a question as she moved her hair up. “But no, I’m not. Konan is getting the shorts I arrived in from the closet.” She held her hair in one hand and used the other to brush through the hair on her head.

“I wanted to know if you had any sort of plan for your mission,” Itachi commented and watched her move her hair from hand to hand.

“Well,” said as she turned around to look in the mirror. “I usually don’t make plans anymore.” She looked at her reflection as she gathered her hair together. “I haven’t needed to in a long time since I know something like this always ends in death.”

Itachi moved as the door opened.

Konan walked in and shut the door. She held the shorts and watched her put up her hair. “How do you manage that much hair?”

“I keep it up all the time unless I need to fix it,” she answered as she got it to where she wanted it to be and started to tie it up with her red hair tie.

“Can I show him your scars?” Konan asked, “The ones where you put your wings.”

“Oh that’s what’s missing.” Itachi commented as if he had just then noticed it.

Alpha gathered her hair on top of her head and held it there. “Sure.”

Konan stepped over to her and lifted her shirt to show the gaping and jagged scars under the mesh. “Her wings just go right into her body.”

Itachi walked over and put his fingertips on one of the scars. He pulled back as she shifted. He saw her muscles flex as she moved and looked up. The light reflected off her arm muscles too. He had been distracted by them then looked at her as she spoke.

“It’s a type of skin pocket that they sit in,” Alpha explained as she looked at their reflections in the mirror. “I still need to leave, you know.”

Itachi let his hand move down her back, “how do you have this much muscle?”

“At least twenty years of training and maintaining the strength I need to do what I want to do.” She answered, “Wings take an additional set of muscles to move as well, so most of that is for flying.”

Konan put her shirt down and handed Alpha the shorts. “So what is your plan?”

Alpha let her hair go and turned around. She held the shorts and waited for the orange glow to overtake them. She’d put them on normally but Itachi was there.

When the glow faded, she had the shorts on and held the pants in one hand. She looked at Konan and spoke in a deeper deadpan voice, “I’m going to make him regret ever doing anything with his life.” she blinked slowly, “However, I won’t know the specifics until I go through with it.”

Konan nodded, “okay, but you’ll probably use your death powers?”

“I won’t know the extent of using them but, yes, I will have to use them.” Alpha answered and reached for her sheath. She put it on and straightened it up before clipping it in place. She looked at herself in the mirror. “As long as I pass as a traveler, I’ll be okay.”

“Will you use your swords?” Itachi asked.

She turned to him, “I don’t really want to level Konoha, so, no. They’re just for show this time.” She put one hand on the handle and lifted it as it detached from the blade. A design choice she made in case her blade ever got stuck in something or someone. She clicked it back into place and put her hand on his shoulder. His fear shouldn’t have surprised her as much as it did.

“Don’t worry about this. Mirrikh will be here and we will be communicating with me...” she paused. Danzo scares him. She stopped talking and pulled him into a hug he wasn’t prepared for. “He’ll let you know when the mission has been completed.”

“But what if something happens?” Itachi asked into her shoulder as he lightly rested his arms around her. “It’ll be my fault for…”

Alpha stepped back and kept her hands under his chin and let her thumbs rest on his face. “You didn’t ask me to do this. I decided to kill him on my own.” Her words comforted him a little bit but not as much as she had wanted.

“But he’s still really powerful,” Itachi’s eyes met hers.

“I know you haven’t seen my fighting style very much but people don’t survive encounters with me.” Alpha spoke quietly as she looked at him. “I don’t leave survivors.”

Itachi looked down at Konan’s hand when he felt it on his shoulder.

“At least she’s able to fix your pain to this extent.” Konan’s gentle voice reached him. “The rest of us don’t get that.” She glanced at Alpha.

Alpha stepped towards the door when Itachi breathed in. Maybe he had listened to Konan, “I need to make sure Mirrikh is going to be ready to go when I need him to be.” She walked behind them and opened the door. She saw Mirrikh leaning on the counter.

He turned to her and left the conversation abruptly. “That’s what you’re wearing?”

“Yeah,” Alpha commented as she walked up to him.

“Did you know the walk to Konoha will take two or three days?” Kisame asked as he glanced at Itachi as he passed them and rejoined him in the kitchen. “Which depends on your pace.”

“How will you get there?” Mirrikh asked as he looked down at her. 

“I was going to travel by lightning.” She spoke confidently and watched Mirrikh’s face drop.

“The most dangerous way to travel?” Mirrikh’s monotone question didn’t faze her.

“Yeah, but you weren’t around to watch me train with lighting to master travelling with it.” She glared up at him as she answered.

“And once you’re there, then what?” Mirrikh asked when she turned to leave.

“Well.” Alpha looked at the door. “I’ll just see what happens and deal with it as needed.” 

“Do you ever strategize?” Kakuzu watched her as she spoke to Mirrikh. He sat on the couch with Hidan. They’d moved to where Hidan would be comfortable.

“Sometimes,” Alpha answered. “It’s usually just a series of ‘here’s a problem’ and ‘here’s how I’ll deal with it’ and move on to the next one until I finished what I set out to do.”

“You always talk like you’re superior to everyone else.” Deidara spoke up and looked up from his book. “Can you back it...”

Deidara’s voice drew her attention.

Mirrikh looked between them but had to watch her. He smirked.

Alpha jumped over the kotatsu to the side of the couch where he sat and took a step. She grabbed Deidara by his shirt and took another few steps to push him onto the wall between Sasori’s work tables. She lifted him up to keep his feet off the ground. He was just a few inches shorter than her so it wasn’t hard to do.

He grabbed her wrists as he dangled over the floor. His blue eyes looked at her and let out a small noise in fear.

“Can I back it up?” She asked as she leaned in closer to his face. “Is that what you were going to ask?”

She felt her sheath settle on her back and her hair settled where it usually did on her shoulder. She glanced at his hands as they tried to pry her hand open.

“Deidara?” Sasori asked when he looked next to him. He turned to see his blonde pinned to the wall.

She only opened her hand to reposition it around his neck with one quick movement. She made sure he could breathe but also kept him dangling on the wall. “hm?” Her eyes widened a little bit. She wanted an answer and wasn’t going to get one.

His eyes darted around her face as he thought about what to do. His hands tightened around her wrists and he tried to kick her.

She stepped to the side then stepped back in front of him. “If you let your emotions determine how you handle situations, it’s going to get you killed.” 

“Why does she get to do that?” Kisame asked quietly.

“Because you’d kill him,” Itachi whispered.

She let him go. He fell to the floor and leaned onto the wall. She squatted and faced him. His blue eye looked up but not at her. “No amount of strategy and contingency planning will help you if you panic.” She stood up and walked back across the living room.

“I lost that bet, damn it.” Kakuzu grumbled.

“What bet?” Deidara coughed and glared at him from behind him.

“We placed bets on who would be first to lose their composure over something you said.” Kakuzu answered. “Should have made a new bet yesterday,” he complained quietly and mostly to Hidan. He kept his left arm behind Hidan and on his thigh. Hidan leaned into Kakuzu more than he usually did.

“We all lost the bet, Kakuzu.” Itachi commented, “You’ll have to take ours out of the budget for our next mission.”

“Yeah, mine too.” Sasori commented as he got up to help Deidara. He looked at the cracked wall and the punch indent Alpha left.

Deidara glared angrily up at his red head as he got closer. “What the fuck Sasori!”

“Sasori you didn’t bet anything,” Kakuzu reported as he looked down at his small book Hidan held up for him and looked through his glasses.

“I thought I did,” Sasori replied as he knelt down to push Diedara’s hair out of the way and kept his hand on the side of his head. He gently made Deidara look away so he could look for fingerprints. “She is right, you know.” Sasori whispered and wiped away the few tears that fell with his thumb. “But you know that.” He whispered even quieter when Deidara looked away from him.

Sasori sat next to Deidara and let him lean on him. He looked at the back of the couch as Kakuzu spoke again.

“Uhhh…” Kakuzu had traced the page and the previous page and the one before when Hidan turned it for him. “No, the last bet you placed was for how long it would take Deidara to blow up the house.” He sighed and crossed that out, “Which Alpha prevented.”

“Alright,” he paused to think of a new bet. “Well, I give it a week before Alpha kicks all of our asses in a sparring match.” He announced and tightened his arm around Deidara. He left a soft kiss on Deidara’s forehead.

“How much do you wager?” Kakuzu asked before processing it. “Wait,” he stopped writing. “One match?”

Alpha listened and stared out the window for the duration of the conversation. She didn’t want to think of that as a losing bet but she’s got her aces too. She smiled a little bit at the idea of taking them all on in a match. It would be a fun match to take part in and they’d see some of her more formidable powers up close.

“Wait,” Itachi giggled. “Ah!”

Alpha turned to the kitchen. Kisame had tickled him then pulled him into a hug so he couldn’t talk.

“What?” Kakuzu asked.

“Kisame already…” He tried to push away from the hug but was cut off again when Kisame moved his hand over his mouth.

“I already beat Kisame in a sparring match.” Alpha smiled and turned around to the living room. She looked over at Kisame and he looked at her quickly. His face was pretty red.

“Don’t tell them that!” He yelled and let Itachi go.

Itachi slowly wrapped his arms around Kisame and watched his facial reaction. He ignored him and looked mildly upset. Kisame didn’t even react to Itachi’s hands on his face which usually got his attention.

“How?” Hidan yelled and tried to sit up. 

“When?” Deidara shouted simultaneously and stood up.

“I’m losing daylight. You tell them Itachi.” She said as she sat down to put her shoes on. She zipped up the back and got the other one on. They were shin high with a small heel and wrapped around her foot but exposed her toes and arch of her foot. She hated it so much.

She stood up to look at Mirrikh. “To answer your question, I’ll make a plan when I get there.” She turned to open the door and walked out onto the grass.

Itachi had wrapped his arms around Kisame’s neck and hung onto him. Kisame wrapped his arms under his butt to hold him but refused to give him attention.

He turned and kept his hands on Kisame’s shoulders. He watched her leave the house, “But I wasn’t watching until the end.” He looked down at Kisame as he walked over to the window. “I don’t know what happened.” Itachi was put down onto the counter gently. He turned to watch her through the window.

“To be honest, I don’t know what really happened either.” Kisame commented and watched Alpha walk out onto the grass. He rested his hands on the counter on either side of Itachi’s legs and leaned his hips between them because he can never manage to be upset with Itachi for too long. He planted a kiss on the side of Itachi’s head as he looked out the window. 

Mirrikh watched her walk onto the grass, “Wait.” He followed her, “What else did you learn how to do?” He stopped near her. “Besides travel by lightning?”

Alpha raised two fingers to the sky, the wind immediately rushed around her and watched the dark clouds slowly appear then swirl above her in the sky. Lighting jolted around her arm as she held it to the sky. “Five years is a long time to learn how to do things without anyone telling me what I can and cannot do, isn’t it?”

Mirrikh watched the storm clouds gather then looked at her.

“I’ll let you know when I’m ready to start.” Alpha told Mirrikh as he backed away from her. “And please be nice.” He nodded as she spoke. “They’re my friends.” Lightning jolted around her eyes as she looked to see Itachi hold the door open. 

“Konoha has a barrier around it!” Itachi yelled into the wind as he stood in the doorway. He took a few steps towards her. “The Intel Corps will know you’re there as soon as you pass through it.”

She looked at him as lighting flashed around her yellow eyes again. “Probably, but I’ll deal with it if I have to.” She held one arm out behind her and pointed her fingers to the ground. “Okay, Mirrikh, I’m ready. Get Itachi in the house now.” Her words vocalized louder than she intended but Mirrikh backed away from her to the door. She put her legs together and waited.

Mirrikh held his arm out for Itachi to move back into the house and almost pushed him as he walked. He shut the door behind them and went to the window to watch her.

Alpha looked up to the sky and lighting surged around her. It jolted out to the ground in a few places.

A large bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and hit her.

It coursed through her body and she allowed herself to flow with its energy.

The lighting flash faded and she was gone. A faint roll of thunder echoed across the sky as she moved.


	14. Alpha Arrives at Konoha

The moment Alpha vanished in the lightning Mirrikh watched where he heard the thunder fade away and turned his head toward Konoha.

Konan and Pain stopped whispering about it when the lighting shot down from the sky.

“I bet she never explains anything.” Deidara commented quietly but still upset about getting pinned to the wall so easily.

“Yeah I’ll take you up on that.” Hidan’s words were slow.

Mirrikh watched the sky but listened to them talk. 

“I’m all in,” Sasori spoke calmly. 

“I bet that she does eventually explain how she does things.” Itachi looked at the three of them from between Kisame’s arms. He’d returned to the counter and had one hand on Kisame’s arm. 

“I bet that she does too,” Kisame placed his bet but watched the sky. He almost wished he was going with her. But he needed to be here…for Itachi. They were both helping Itachi with the thing that haunted him. She actually gets to murder the man responsible while Kisame stayed there at the hideout and will probably hold Itachi the entire day. Which he didn’t mind at all if that’s the only way he can protect Itachi right now.

Mirrikh gave a half glance towards the kitchen as they spoke. They were on her side. Maybe there was something more to these people… These people she called friends.

“What exactly are you betting on?” Pain asked as he turned around from the window and looked out at the living room. Konan did the same.

“Whether or not Alpha explains things,” Tobi explained. He’d been quiet the entire time until now. “She doesn’t tell us anything anyway so why would she start now?”

“Why do you sound upset?” Hidan asked, “You know you’re not her best friend.”

“Alpha is our comrade and will share with us what she wants to share,” Pain’s voice overrode everyone else. “We aren’t all open books.”

“I should talk to her about subtlety,” Konan commented as she watched Sasori sit with Deidara.

“She’ll probably land in the middle of the village and wonder where all the Anbu came from.” Deidara spoke bitterly but watched Sasori move to him. 

“What pissed you off?” Konan asked as she walked into the kitchen.

“Didn’t you see Alpha attack me?” Deidara shouted from the floor. 

“You pissed her off!” Kisame turned around abruptly.

“And then we all lost our bets on who would lose their composure first while Deidara talked,” Hidan added.

“She doesn’t seem like the type to take anyone’s bullshit.” Pain defended her as he followed Konan. “Which is logical for someone like her,” He turned to watch Konan as she got out a jar with a leaf blend in it.

“I just hope she lands far enough away from the village.” Konan mumbled. “Lightning is the easiest way to attract attention.”

The others continued to argue but Pain ignored them as he walked to her. “From what she told us, she knows what she’s doing. You don’t need to worry about her.”

“I know,” She put the leaves in a metal filter. “It’s just nice to have another woman around and that we get along.”

“There aren’t a lot of murderous women out there.” Pain smiled, “She’s a good addition to the group.” He turned to look at the rising noise and the Akatsuki ready to fight in the living room.

Itachi kept his eyes on Kisame as he had turned around and walked a few steps towards the living room.

Hidan half stood up from the couch and turned to yell back at Deidara.

Kakuzu had crossed one leg over the other and relaxed into the couch. He wrote in his notebook to budget another new living room. It would be at least one more bounty but that money had to go other places too.

Sasori held his hand out in front of Deidara and faced Hidan with him but remained silent. He watched the others too and assessed the escalating tones and movements. 

“Did you fall in love with her already, Tobi?” Deidara yelled loud enough that Kisame stopped his argument with Hidan and turned to Tobi.

“What? No!” Tobi retracted into his seat and held his hands up.

“You’ve been really quiet this entire day and you shy away from her now,” Deidara tried to change the subject.

Itachi got off the counter and walked to stand in front of Kisame, “That’s enough, Kisame.” His tone came off as loud and dominated the air for a moment.

Kisame took a deep slow breath and looked down at Itachi. “I actually hate that that tone works for you.”

“I’m glad it does,” He mumbled and reached up to kiss his face.

“You were all over her yesterday when she got here, what changed? Hmm?” Deidara asked as he stood at the end of the couch. He crossed his arms and burned his blue eyes into that mask.

He searched for an answer, “Y…You saw her too!”

“Oooh! Did the goddess of death scare you?” Deidara put one hand on his hip and leaned into it. “She won’t hurt us. Just me apparently but I’m sure the rest of you will be okay.”

The question made Mirrikh smile for a moment before he turned to the group. He crossed his arms and leaned into the window sill. He glanced at the wall where Alpha had pinned Deidara.

The faint crater and fist shaped imprint in the wall made him smirk. That kid should have died. But she had decided to push her power around him and into the wall. That must’ve been part of the reason why he couldn’t do anything to help himself.

Mirrikh glanced at Deidara then looked at Hidan.

“She pushed us away when she saw us,” Hidan gestured to himself and Kakuzu as he spoke.

“It was scary to be near her but she intentionally moved us away from her.” Kakuzu looked up from the notebook and nodded his head, “I want to believe she won’t hurt us.”

“It seemed like we wouldn’t get caught up in the crossfire.” Sasori added, “If she actively kept us at a safe distance when she uses her abilities.” He helped Deidara sit on one side of the couch and sat next to him. He watched the conversation for a moment before looking for marks on Deidara’s neck in better lighting.

“She knew exactly what her range was for our sparring match yesterday.” Itachi started, “But I would not want to be on the receiving end of an attack when she was serious about it.” He remembered how his fireball stopped mid-air and how he’d been unable to make a new plan of attack when it went back in his direction.

“Alpha is many things, but she will never kill someone needlessly.” Mirrikh spoke up and his deep voice got everyone’s attention. He didn’t anticipate all the eyes that watched him.

He stepped forward and raised his arm to the wall, “That imprint is a good example.”

Deidara jumped up and turned the fastest. His shoulders dropped just enough for Mirrikh to notice. He turned back around and waited for Sasori to sit back down.

“How,” Kisame started, “Can you tell when she’s serious about killing someone?”

“From what I’ve seen,” Mirrikh began. “If you’re fighting her and she stopped smiling, that’s the last thing you’ll ever see because she’s decided to kill you.”

“And what if she’s smiling?” Kisame asked.

“Then she’s not taking it seriously and you’re lucky to be alive.” Mirrikh answered, “How did she fight you?”

Kisame thought about the few seconds they’d fought when she first arrived. “I had aimed my sword at her and she held up her hand.” He watched Mirrikh’s facial expression shift slowly. “And my sword stopped mid air. I couldn’t move it but I was still moving and then I ran into it before she threw me back onto the ground.”

“Mid air?” Mirrikh’s eyes widened a bit. “What did it sound like?” He turned to face Kisame.

“I heard something that sounded like a deep reverberating sound… what?” Kisame answered and stopped when Mirrikh breathed in sharply then turned back to the window.

Kisame should be dead too…

“You are… extremely lucky to be alive.” Mirrikh answered before he turned back to Kisame. “She uses that for an instant kill. It’s her control over the electromagnetic field.” He moved his hand in the air as he spoke.

“What’s that?” Kakuzu asked.

“It’s the gravitational pull that holds your atoms together.” Mirrikh answered, “That ability allows her to stop cells from moving and it will instantly kill anyone.” 

“Can you do that?” Konan whispered to Pain.

“I don’t know.” He whispered back. “I’ve never tried something like that.” Pain turned around to Mirrikh, “Alpha is not allowed to use that on us.”

“If you’re able to tell her not to do something, be my guest.” Mirrikh looked at Pain. “But she sees you all as comrades so I doubt she’ll turn on you.”

“How do you know that?” Pain asked.

“If you’re loyal to her, she’s loyal to you.” Mirrikh answered, “She’s always been like that. Just don’t give her a reason not to trust you.”

Pain nodded and then turned to Konan who was watching the tea pot on the stove. They were similar in a lot of ways yet so different. He turned around to Mirrikh again as he thought of something else.

“Do you know why she wanted to take on this mission?” Pain asked, “Alpha isn’t from here and yet she wants to kill a high profile village elder she’s never met. It’s not a mission I would assign anyone here, as much as we would like to, it’s not something I would normally approve of.”

“Then why let her go?” Mirrikh asked. He turned to look at Pain directly and held one arm out to him. 

Pain recalled what she had told him and smiled a bit. “She would have gone no matter what I said.” He straightened up and crossed his arms too. “Alpha’s the only one who has no disadvantages in a battle against someone like Danzo.”

“Alpha doesn’t have any disadvantages in any battle.” Mirrikh added, “Which I need to be ready for.” He didn’t want to give something away that she wouldn’t want him to talk about.

“Ready for what?” Itachi asked from Kisame’s arms as they stood together. Kisame leaned on the counter and faced Mirrikh.

“Ready for when she needs to use my powers.” Mirrikh answered, “I need somewhere to sit undisturbed until the mission’s completion.”

“You’re welcome to use our room,” Kisame offered. He also wanted to know how Mirrikh would help her. He put his hand on Itachi’s shoulder and let him take the lead.

“Oh, okay. Thank you.” Mirrikh commented and walked after them. Her scent got stronger the closer he walked to one of the doors.

Kisame opened the door and Itachi walked inside. He waited for Mirrikh to walk inside but he stood in the doorway. “It’s not much, but it works for us.” He glanced at Itachi who’d sat down on his cushion under the skylight.

“She’s been in here.” Mirrikh commented as he looked down at Kisame. He was only a few inches taller but his gaze was enough to get Kisame to step back.

“She needed a place to put her swords.” Itachi commented as he moved his blanket over his lap. “And you needed somewhere to be undisturbed so we offered a place for you to be.”

Mirrikh looked at Itachi as he spoke. There must be more to it. Alpha doesn’t sleep and she doesn’t take off her swords often.

He stepped inside. “She doesn’t sleep.” He commented as he could smell that their scents intermingled recently.

Kisame shut the door and quietly moved by Mirrikh to sit next to Itachi. His voice was quiet. “It was safer for her to be here than in her own room.”

Mirrikh assumed it was because of the man in the mask given that their first interaction made him uneasy. “Safer?” He took a few steps to sit closer to the middle of the room but could still see the door. His back was to the closet. He crossed his legs and looked at them. 

“Tobi couldn’t stay away from her when she first arrived,” Itachi whispered. “So we offered to share our room.”

“Why didn’t she kill him?” Mirrikh whispered as he crossed his legs. 

“Why would she?” Kisame asked.

“She doesn’t trust him.” Mirrikh answered quietly. They glanced at each other but didn’t say anything else. He straightened up and put his fists together. His eyes turned all black and he was quiet. “I’m going to see where she’s at. She should have landed by now.”

Tobi remained quiet and watched Mirrikh leave the living room.

He didn’t want to tell them that Alpha reminded him of a girl he knew a long time ago. It wasn’t much, but when he first saw her, he’d frozen in place and thought she… as Alpha had turned around to look at him. Their smiles were the same… and the way she protected them...

And she was gentle.

But no one would ever know that. Although the group had noticed the personality change and he would have to be more careful.

Alpha landed with the lighting strike as it hit a tree. She found her footing on a high up branch and leaned into the trunk. She was under the canopy and looked at the sunlight as it filtered through the leaves.

She jumped to the next highest branch and pushed branches out of her way to look out at the forest.

The village wasn’t very far away but she would need an excuse for being there.

Alpha sat on the branch and held her hand to the tree trunk. She breathed out as her powers connected her to the synapses system that trees usually use to communicate. She closed her eyes and followed the electrical currents in all directions like she would when she casted out her senses.

White hair grabbed her attention. Long white hair and a scroll hanging off this man’s back. He walked with a blonde teenage boy in an orange and black outfit.

The energy signature he gave off was immense and took her by surprise a bit.

“Hey, Pervy Sage,” The kid spoke but sounded like he shouted his words. “When we get back to Konaha…” He walked with his hands behind his head.

“We’ll go to Ichiraku,” Jiraiya sounded like he’d had to repeat this answer several times already. “I know, Naruto.”

Naruto turned to Jiraiya as he walked. “Do you remember that you’re buying? Since I completed my training and you promised you would.”

“I didn’t forget.” Jiraiya smiled and closed his eyes for a moment then turned to Naruto. “This may be hard for you to do, but be calm when we get there. It’s been a long journey back and I really need to get a room for the night.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Naruto replied and gave him a grumpy pouty look. “You’re always doing research at those kinds of hotels.”

Jiraiya laughed, “Maybe so. But I’m not dumb enough to do that in Konoha where Tsunade can beat me up for it.”

Their conversation continued as they walked closer to the gates.

Alpha opened her eyes. Orange aura covered her arm and hand. As she lifted her hand off the tree trunk she grabbed and pulled a book out of the bark. The cover that Naruto had been thinking of when he spoke about it appeared on the cover. The pages were believable but as long as no one actually looked at the book, it would pass as legitimate.

“So much intel in such a short conversation,” Alpha mumbled to herself as she turned the leaves of a nearby tree branch into a backpack similar to the style of Naruto’s. It was dark green and held its shape to look like there were more supplies in it instead of just a book.

She put it around her shoulders and it fit fine. The straps reminded her of artillery straps. She smiled as she thought about how she’d subconsciously made them like that. At least they couldn’t be cut with blades. She held onto one strap and put her fingertips to the tree trunk again.

Through the synapses, like before, she found a clearing in the trees at the end of the path that would have to be Konaha. The raised hill towards the back was where her power was being drawn.

She pulled her hand off the tree and jumped to the ground. She walked through the trees toward the path to the gate.

Before she broke the tree line she paused, rolled her eyes and stepped back into the shadows of the forest. She leaned on a tree away from the path, put her fists together and closed her eyes.

_What?_

_I wanted to check in and see where you were at._ Mirrikh’s voice spoke into her head.

 _I’m close to the barrier and then I’ll be at the gate. Just follow me and don’t distract me, Mirrikh._ Alpha replied but waited for a response.

_When do you think you’ll need my help?_

_I probably won’t do anything until after nightfall._ Alpha answered. _It’ll be too public if anything’s done in the daylight._

When he didn’t respond she spoke through the connection.

_Did you want to know something else?_

_Your scent is all over their bed. Did you sleep with them?_

_We shared the bed, yeah._ Alpha replied, _they shared their room with me so I wouldn’t be bothered by Tobi while I was there._

_Did anything happen?_

_No, nothing happened._ Alpha started to smile. _We cuddled because I generate excess body heat and Itachi’s anemic and fell asleep on me. Kisame slept on the other side of Itachi._

_Does he know he’s anemic? This place doesn’t seem advanced enough.._

_I don’t think so._ Alpha answered, _When I healed his lungs there hadn’t been any prior treatment so he either hasn’t gotten any treatment or there isn’t any available._

 _What a low-tech bullshit hell hole._ Mirrikh laughed his thought to her.

 _Yeah, you’re telling me. I had to tell Konan about my nanotech but she didn’t ask any further questions about it which was probably a good thing because even if I did explain how it worked, she wouldn’t understand anything I was saying._ Alpha explained to him. _But, I appreciate the attempt to understand me._

_It’s interesting that she would want to know more about you._

_Yeah it is._ She continued. _Oh, Kisame likes to ask questions so just answer them even if you think he might not understand the answer._ Alpha advised him. _But don’t give super thorough or in depth answers. They don’t need to know everything, just enough to not lie about things._

 _Good to know._ Mirrikh responded. _I’ll be around until you need me, Alpha._

 _Thank you, Mirrikh._ Alpha commented then opened her eyes.

That may have been enough time to let Naruto and Jiraiya get inside the gates and into the village enough so they wouldn’t know she was there.

She stood up and put her left hand flat on top of her right hand parallel to her torso. She pushed down and felt her more active powers settle into calm little flames. She hated to, but she pulled in her senses too.

“I shouldn’t give off such a huge energy signature now.” Alpha commented as she walked toward the path. “I wish it didn’t feel like I couldn’t see three feet in front of me but, I have to pass as human.”

She stepped onto the dirt path and walked in the direction of the village. She walked in silence and hoped to get through the barrier soon.


	15. The Copy Ninja's Day Off

Mirrikh opened his eyes and lowered his arms. “She’s almost past the barrier.”

“When does she think she’ll…” Itachi’s question faded as he asked it.

“After sundown so it’s less obvious.” Mirrikh answered but had let Itachi try to finish his question. He watched how much this affected him. “It’s best to just let her work.” Mirrikh spoke in a softer tone that seemed to have surprised Itachi.

“Yeah, you’re right.” he commented quietly and looked up at the skylight.

“Well, why don’t you ask me questions instead of waiting for the sun to set?” Mirrikh commented after he watched Itachi look up at the sky, “It’s going to be a while anyway.”

Itachi leaned on Kisame’s shoulder and tried not to look at the amount of daylight left in the day.

“What are we allowed to ask about?” Kisame asked as he held Itachi’s hand in between his.

“Anything that isn’t too personal, if you want to know more about Alpha. I’ll leave the personal topics for her to talk about.” Mirrikh answered, “Everything else should be okay but I’ll let you know if a question crosses a line.” 

Kisame nodded. “Why did she decide to go on this mission?” Mirrikh dodged the answer when Pain had asked it but he still wanted to know and was sure Itachi wanted to know the answer as well.

Mirrikh leaned back on one arm, “I’m sure she has her own reasons. But she isn’t someone to tolerate corruption.” He looked between Kisame and Itachi. Kisame wanted to know but Itachi didn’t look at him as he spoke. “Based on her immediate reaction and the fact that she wants to do it in person, this man she wants to kill must be one of the most corrupted men around here.” He paused as Itachi looked down. “I don’t need to know why she’s doing this or what he did. And honestly. I don’t really care.”

Itachi looked up at him.

“I’m just here to help her kill him in whatever creative way she deems worthy for his soul.” Mirrikh finished his comment and waited for further questions. “It’s not the answer I wanted to announce to everyone while she wasn’t here.”

“Do you have any idea how she’ll do it?” Kisame asked quietly as he lifted his arm for Itachi as he moved himself into Kisame’s lap. He rested his right hand over Itachi’s hip to hold him closer and let him relax onto his chest. His left arm supported Itachi’s back and he held onto Itachi’s hand as he reached for it.

“I know she never assassinates anyone the same way twice.” Mirrikh answered, “She fights with a sword, two swords actually, and she gets creative with that but she likes to keep it interesting for herself more so than constantly trying to be the “war hero” she was perceived as to just get the job done. She doesn’t like redundancy.” 

“She’s done this before?” Itachi asked quietly.

“Yes. Normally,” Mirrikh paused. “She would make a spectacle out of an assassination of a person with power. She enjoys the…” He had to pick his words carefully here as he watched Itachi. “She usually likes to have a crowd of witnesses. But she’s being careful with this one. I can’t quite figure out why.”

“What’s the most violent way she’s killed someone?” Kisame asked. His question surprised Itachi a bit.

“What scenario are you asking about? All out war?” Mirrikh asked for clarification. “Or something stupid like a small group of hyped up bastards who think they can take her on? Because it depends on the scenario, who she’s fighting and how strong they are.”

Alpha chooses how she fights based on the scenario? “She’s so calm and friendly. How can she be so violent?” Itachi wondered out loud. He’d misjudged her passivism. 

“Alpha has full control over her powers, knows her range and limits and knows when to use her powers. She knows how much power to use and knows when it’s not time to fight.” Mirrikh answered through his experience and years with her. “She isn’t a mindless killing machine.” But once the bloodlust settles in, she can be and it’s not a sight Mirrikh liked to see.

“She knows when not to fight?” Kisame asked. “She’s backed away from a battle?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Mirrikh answered, “When you fought her and she threw you back with your sword, and earlier when she pinned Deidara to the wall and left an imprint to show she redirected her power. Those were her way to show that she is powerful and she hoped that you wouldn’t try to antagonize her again because she will win that fight.” He paused as he watched Kisame look away from him. “And it will be easy for her.”

“It was her way of warning us about her power.” Itachi looked up at him. He looked at Mirrikh. “Pain wanted me to be her sparring partner so he could officially let her join us. She showed off her power rather than use it offensively.”

Mirrikh nodded, “She won’t engage in a fight seriously when she doesn’t intend on killing her opponent. But that wasn’t a real sparring match by any means, as you’ve seen how she treats sparring matches. Alpha probably just gauged your power and deflected it back at you.”

Itachi nodded, “that’s what it looked like.” He remembered the wind too. “She blew the flames back at her and away from me.”

“Alpha held her hand out to the fire and held it in her hand.” Kisame remembered the fear he felt when she did. “It spun in her hand and then she forced it up into the sky.”

“Impressive.” Mirrikh looked at Itachi. “You must be powerful for her to include wind in her defensive attack.” he thought about what they told him. “She protected you from your own attack too.”

The door opened. Konan held a tray with a small tea pot and three cups. “Will she be okay?” Her orange eyes watched Mirrikh as she walked into the room.

He turned to look at her. “Yes, she’ll be fine.” He watched her kneel down between them.

Konan set the tray down, “Are you sure?” She reached over to hand Itachi his tea cup since he looked like he wasn’t going to get up for it.

Mirrikh sighed and resisted rolling his eyes, “Alpha is impossible to kill, has far too much power for one person, and would more than likely burn the village to the ground before she admitted defeat.” He watched her stand up. “And I’m here to help her if she needs it.”

“But you didn’t go with her to help,” Konan commented.

Mirrikh shrugged, “I’d just get in her way.” he glanced off to the side and looked at the floor.

 _The barrier was not worth the trouble of powering down._ Alpha commented. _Intel has no idea I’m here but that’s a good thing._

“She got past the barrier without any trouble.” Mirrikh commented, “But now we just wait.” 

“You’ll be able to tell us if she’s okay?” Konan asked.

“And if the mission was a success?” Kisame asked after her question.

“Yes,” Mirrikh answered both questions.

 _Just meditate, Mirrikh. Don’t get irritated._ Alpha’s voice rang through his head and acknowledged his irritation before he had.

“She’s at the gates.” Mirrikh told them as he closed his eyes. He crossed his legs and levitated off the floor a few inches. He rested his wrists on his knees and saw Konoha through her eyes. _I’m on standby like you wanted._

Alpha slowed as she approached where the barrier rested on the ground. She could hardly sense it but knew it was there. Beyond the barrier stood a pair of giant and open green gates with symbols on them that she couldn’t read.

Inside the gates was a busy village full of citizens and shinobi living their little lives.

She stepped through the barrier and saw a glimpse of a bubble in the middle of a large room with people around it. They didn’t react to her presence.

As she stepped away from it, the image in her mind faded.

 _The barrier was not worth the trouble of powering down._ She told Mirrikh and knew she had interrupted something. _Intel has no idea I’m here but that’s a good thing._

He didn’t respond to her. She assumed he was repeating what she said.

She watched the gates get bigger as she walked up to them. She paused to look up at one of them then at the gateway. She could pilot one of her ships through this gateway.

The concrete design and the giant green gates were something familiar to the villagers here. 

Alpha wondered what it was like to be welcomed home like this.

She walked through the threshold and passed a small booth with bored shinobi that sat in it and ignored her. She took a look at the paths through the village and sensed a certain portion of the outskirts of the village. Her senses stretched out enough to understand what it was.

It was covered in the remnants of death.

The abandoned Uchiha home was not what she was there for but…

There was a pull in a different direction. She sensed a small amount Uchiha blood in one part of the village that was separate from the massive amount that came from the mountains.

She followed the small amount of power through one of the streets of the village. It was a civilian shopping street.

Of course Alpha stuck out a bit because of the swords but she assumed she looked enough like a traveler because people looked at her but didn’t stare or stop her.

One shop caught her eye. She looked through the window at the swords on the back wall and held one strap of her sheath. They looked like they weren’t for sale but somehow made her happy to just look at swords from a different world.

As weapons evolved to be more violent across the galaxy, everyone had a sword phase.

She had also paused to count how many Anbu were around her. There were four. She looked up at the reflection in the glass as one of the figures darted away.

The sound of a child’s giggle caught her attention. She looked down as the small child chased a ball past her.

She glanced at the movement from behind the glass as someone approached the door from the inside of the shop. She took two steps forward and knocked the ball with her heel and spun on her foot to block the child from the door. The ball distracted the child as it stumbled away from the door.

Small hands grabbed her leg as the door hit her shoe. Alpha looked up and saw the surprised face of the man as he held the door open.

Alpha bent down and gently picked up the child. She was going to speak to him as she stood back up but just tilted her head and smiled softly, “I guess you’re too young to tell you to watch where you’re going.” she supported him on her hip and wrapped her arm around him.

The child’s cooing made her smile.

She looked around for the ball then walked over to grab it. Small hands grabbed her hair.

It reminded her of something she couldn’t form a memory for. But she remembered the sensation of small hands grabbing her hair.

The man opened the door all the way, “I was going to invite you in but I see you’re busy.” He waited for her to respond after she stood up.

Alpha turned to him and handed the child the ball. He grabbed it happily and held it with his tiny hands. She smiled as she spoke, “Thank you but I have to find his mother. She shouldn’t be too far away.”

“Iniki, there you are,” A woman spoke as she got closer to Alpha. “I’m so sorry for the trouble,” She paused to bow a little as Alpha turned to her.

“He wasn’t any trouble at all,” Alpha commented as the mother looked up at her. “Children are like the sunbeams that peak through storm clouds.” She spoke as she lifted the child off her hip and held him out for her.

The mother held her arms out for her son and hesitated to respond as she thought about what she had heard. She held her son to her hip and looked at Alpha, “Do you have children of your own?” 

Alpha nodded faintly, “But it was a long time ago.” She smiled at the boy as he reached out to her. She held up her hand and let him wrap his little fingers around her index finger.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She replied sympathetically and let her son interact with Alpha for a little while longer. “Did you lose them in battle?” She glanced up at Alpha’s sword handles.

Alpha rested her thumb on the boy’s fingers as he held up his ball to her. “They were on a different front than I was and couldn’t get to them in time.” She pushed the ball back to the boy gently, “keep it.” She spoke gently and focused on the boy.

The mother didn’t know what to say to her answer.

Alpha looked at her with a pained gaze, “No parent should have to bury their child.” Her voice didn’t crack or reflect the sadness she had felt. Her smile faded away for a moment. She moved her finger out of the child’s grip, “it was nice to meet you, Iniki.” Alpha nodded to the mother before she walked away.

Alpha didn’t really remember if she had kids or not. But it felt like she did at one point in the past. And it felt like they’d died but she couldn’t remember when, why or how.

She looked up and took a right onto a quieter path that followed the Uchiha energy she’d been following. It was nearby and grew stronger as she walked closer to it.

It matched Tobi’s Sharingan energy. It came from an apartment a few stories up. She glanced up the building then looked at the tree that the building across the path had been partially built around. There were large branches half way up the tree. Maybe she could use one to look across the village.

Alpha took a step towards the tree trunk and jumped onto it. In one leap she was able to reach the lowest branch.

Even from here she could sense the overwhelming Uchiha power from the direction of the hill. She looked at the faces on the hill. It was a good distance away.

Her ear twitched as birds chirped from somewhere around her.

She jumped up to the next branch. As she landed on it she could sense that she was almost too close to the Uchiha energy that came from the apartment.

Birds flapped their wings around her.

She held up one hand to one of them. She watched it look at her finger before it landed on it. She slowly moved to lean back on the tree trunk and watched it hop towards her arm. She felt another land on her shoulder.

The sharingan energy stirred but didn’t activate any power more than it already used.

The birds opened their wings and flew higher into the tree as her visitor landed on the tree branch. She watched them fly up higher into the tree.

“I’ve never seen that before,” His deep voice sounded curious more than threatened and it didn’t come off as threatening to her. 

Alpha used what little of her Life powers she retained to feel his movements through the tree branch.

He straightened up as he spoke and his muscles tensed as she looked at him. He may sound like he doesn’t feel threatened but his reaction said otherwise.

His spiky silver hair leaned to one side and his dark gray eye watched her look at him. He was tall, wore loose dark pants and had a muscular build that could be easily seen in the skin tight black tank top he wore. Its sleeveless design exposed his broad shoulders and the results of years of combat training. The sunlight created shadows that showed off his muscles underneath the shirt. All but his eyes were covered by a mask. He had a scar over his left eye where the sharingan power came from.

The energy looked dark red to her and it contrasted the dark gray right eye. The sharingan itself focused on her movements.

“Who are you?” He asked when she didn’t immediately attack him as he had expected her to. She also didn’t run from him either. Did she even know he has a ‘flee on sight’ order? She just turned a bit to look at him better.

“I should ask you the same thing,” she looked at him. “Your eye gives off Uchiha power but you aren’t from that clan.” She blinked slowly and watched the dark red aura turn more potent. 

“You’ve heard of me but you don’t know who I am?” His voice didn’t give away the seriousness of his question. He wanted to figure her out before she moved.

Alpha turned her body to face him slowly. She purposefully gave him her best angle and leaned on one hip and let her hands rest in her pockets.

She enjoyed watching him grow more frustrated as he looked at her with his sharingan.

“What?” His whispered question amused her. He sounded surprised and wasn’t sure how to react. 

“Alright. I’ll play along.” She held her hands up. “What do you want to know?” She leaned onto the tree trunk. 

“Who are you?” He wasn’t sure what to ask first but repeated his previous question.

He might as well know, even if it won’t matter in the future, “Not that you’ll know who I am, but my name is Alpha.” She pointed to his sharingan. “You should put that away before you tire yourself out.” She could see that it drained his energy faster than Itachi’s did. She assumed it was because his own energy wasn’t compatible with it. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked. “If you're after me, it won’t be easy.” 

“Actually I’m looking for Lord Jiraiya so he can sign one of his books for me.” She explained her bullshit cover story. “But I recognized the power frequency of a Sharingan so I followed it and ended up here. I’m still surprised someone not of Uchiha blood has it.” She kept her lie going, “The Uchiha bloodline is supposed to live here but I only sensed yours.”

 _There he is._ She looked to the side but kept Kakashi in her peripheral. Even Mirrikh could follow the energy to the mountains.

“What do you mean by recognizing the power frequency?” He asked and got her attention back. Also she reads Lord Jiraiya’s Make Out series? That’s not important right now.

But that little detail grabbed his attention entirely.

“My village had a secret,” She lied. “And the other villages fought with each other over it and eventually one of those battles destroyed my home. I was the best in the village and to protect me, they sent me away. I came back to ashes where my village had once stood.”

“Your bloodline can sense power frequencies? That’s a powerful sensory kekkei genkai.” Kakashi almost sounded impressed and understood why others had been after it. “How powerful do I look?”

Alpha scanned him quickly, she didn’t need to but the opportunity presented itself. She looked back up at his face, “Powerful enough to see the value in not killing you, if that makes you feel better.” She commented and almost sounded bored. “If I had been after you, you’d be dead already”. She sensed which muscles tensed up in his arms and legs.

As he drew his kunai, she moved forward in a blur and grabbed his shirt before he could react. She dragged her foot behind her on the tree branch to not lose footing as she turned. She released his shirt and had tried to toss him as gently as possible into the tree trunk he still hit it hard. 

He looked up at her in with wide eyes and raised his kunai instinctively.

She walked over to him and straightened up a little. She leaned her head to the side just enough to line up her neck with the kunai he held up. She didn’t give him time to straighten up.

He pulled it back towards him as she pushed into it while she took a few steps closer.

She pinned his other arm to the tree by his side. Two fingers lined up with his heart at an angle under his sternum. Her body inches from his. She was about as tall as him since he hadn’t had time to stand, and glared at him.

“You may be one of the most skilled shinobi around here but I outmatch you,” Her words were fierce and spoke the truth. 

Kakashi couldn’t move. Her movements were too quick and she was much stronger than she looked. He wasn’t familiar with the reaction his body gave to this situation. Strong shinobi or not, he was still a man in his thirties. He gasped quietly and hoped it wasn’t obvious but felt his face heat up.

Her facial expression gave nothing away but she felt that his heart rate picked up drastically.

His sharingan matched Tobi’s.

There was a long silence and she almost smiled at the thought of his panic. She didn’t care but she knew why he’d started to panic. She let him go and took a few steps back and watched him fix the grip on his kunai while he dropped to sit down. 

“Alright. Well.” He lowered his kunai, kept one leg bent and lowered his head. “If you're not a threat then leave. I don't like being stalked by people,” He looked up at her a little bit.

She saluted him with two fingers as she spun on the ball of her foot. She pointed down at him and slid off the side of the branch. “You might want to take care of that,” she smiled as she fell. She back flipped in the air, landed on the ground and started to walk away. She thought it was cute how red he got from her comment. It made her smile for a few moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did Kakashi's focus get completely derailed? Yes. And there's more in the next few chapters.   
> Does Alpha vaguely look like Rin? Yes. It was something I noticed while writing this initially and wanted to use to the plot's advantage which is ultimately Alpha's advantage.   
> Does that effect the 30 year old men who don't know the other has spoken to Alpha? Yes.   
> That's going to be an emotional roller coaster I still have to write.


	16. Lady Tsunade's Approval

Alpha walked through more civilian streets and hoped to wander into some restaurants at some point. She needed a drink.

The streets started to look the same. There were civilian homes, shops and people who exist in a sheltered world. 

But people had started to stare at her. She heard their comments but kept walking as calmly as she could.

They whispered about how pretty she was. Who is she? Have you seen her before? Do you see her swords?

She ignored them and walked by a ramen shop. It smelled really good. Naruto’s jacket caught her attention.

 _That's a lot of power for a child_. Mirrikh commented.

 _That’s Naruto,_ She thought. He may be an older teen but he reminded her of herself all those years ago.

 _Well, at least he hasn’t turned into a villain yet_ , his laughter echoed into her head.

 _Oh shut up_ , she thought. Jiraiya sat next to him. She decided to keep moving.

There were more comments from civilians about how pretty she was but she kept her pace.

She walked down a different street and she walked towards a flower shop. It drew her attentnion because she couldn’t hear the flowers voices and it had been far too quiet for her.

Alpha looked at the bunches of flowers outside the front door of the shop and tilted her head a little as her gaze moved over them. She focused on the small trees that had been given their own planters and could hear the water moving through the tree trunks. The sound was barely audible but she blamed it on being so powered down.

She turned to the flowers near the front door and put her hands on the straps of her bag. She listened to the women passing by.

“Woah she’s gorgeous. Who's she getting flowers for?” A woman commented to her friends as they walked by.

Alpha reached to pick up a single pink rose. It was dead. All of these flowers were. They just hadn’t wilted yet, kept alive by water to be admired for a few days more.

As she put it back, she was approached by a young woman with long blonde hair in a ponytail, some covered her eye. She wore an apron and held a watering can. “Let me know if you need any... help.” Her voice trailed off as Alpha looked at her. Her sky blue eyes met Alpha’s and she stopped.

This girl’s power was similar to the man’s she’d seen through the barrier. “Thank you, but I'm just looking.” She smiled at her then turned to leave but waved back at her. “Have a good day.”

She walked away without waiting for a response. She felt a faint wave of power that drowned out the rest around her. It wasn’t threatening but it was interrupted by something.

Alpha followed it and made her way to a shop that smelled like a variant of sake. She lifted the cloth pieces that lined the top of the doorframe and walked inside.

After she got the wave of approval by the wait staff, Alpha went to a table next to the person with all that power. She took off her shoes and set her bag and sheath down. She heard the blonde woman with the massive source of power when she started to laugh.

She turned to Alpha, “Sorry for laughing. I’m hiding from my office staff and thought you were Shizune.” She beckoned her over, “Come drink with me.” She turned to a staff member and shouted for another few rounds. “A pretty woman like you shouldn’t drink alone.” She smiled at her.

Alpha moved to her table and put her sheath down next to her. Alpha rested her bag near her and tucked her legs under her and after the sake had been brought over and poured, she took a small drink from the cup. It was better than the sake that Konan had served but this was a restaurant. It had to be good.

“You’re Lady Tsunade!” Alpha rested the cup down on the table and wanted to sound like she just figured it out.

“I’ve been Hokage for a while now actually.” She took a drink and lifted each of the collection of bottles in front of her looking for more before continuing to drink from the new bottle. “And I know everyone in the village but I don’t recognize you.”

Alpha look another small drink, “I’m actually looking for Lord Jiraiya,” She reached into her backpack and took out the book. “I wanted him to sign this for me.”

“Hmm?” Tsunade looked at the book. “That’s his first one. It didn’t sell so he never wrote a sequel.” She held her cup and looked away lost in thought.

“He could have written a good sequel for it. Would you happen to know where he is?” Alpha asked and took a drink from the cup. “I assumed he’d come back here eventually.”

“I have no idea,” Tsunade’s cheeks were starting to turn a darker pink. “He’s off training with his student.” She laughed, “I’m sure he’d come running right back if he knew a pretty young woman was looking for him.” She laughed again.

Alpha picked up the sake bottle and drank from it directly.

Tsunade watched her and put her cup down. “I never would have thought to do that.” She took a sip directly from the bottle. “It’s better!” she said as she lowered the bottle to the table. “How did your journey begin?”

Alpha was quiet. What did she tell Kakashi? Her story would have to line up, just in case.

“I wanted to have an adventure like the one in this book.” She looked at the book as she spoke. “But it’s not been nearly as eventful.” She leaned the book on the table by its spine and placed her finger on top of it then spun it on the table. “It’s been good encouragement to train every day to be better.” She took another drink and put the book down. “I ended up getting it during one of the stops on one of my first missions. I’ve read it several times.” 

“A genuine fan.” Tsunade spoke solemnly. “Have you read his other books?”

“Yeah I have.” Alpha put the book down. “I read them one time out of respect for him as an author but I didn’t like them.” she drank some more.

“For that you can stay as long as you want,” Tsunade’s laugh was contagious.

“Thanks!” Alpha smiled and moved to clank their bottles together. Tsunade noticed and moved hers too.

“Women really need to stick together in this world.” Tsunade took another long drink. She opened her eyes and looked behind Alpha. “Ah Kakashi! Welcome!”

“I came to report…” He froze as Alpha turned around and smiled at him.

“Report? You’re off today!” Tsunade shouted. “And I’m not in my office so I’m not dealing with it.” She moved a bottle of sake to an empty seat at the table. “Join us. I want you to meet…” She looked at Alpha, “Oh I didn’t catch your name” 

“Alpha,” She smiled at the Hokage.

“This is Alpha, she’s looking for Jiraiya.”

He walked over and left his shoes on the floor next to Alpha’s and Tsunade’s and joined them on the giant cushion next to Tsunade.

She held her arm out. “Nope. You’re sitting over there,” she shoved him as she spoke. Maybe he’d stop being so serious and unemotional if he had someone in his life like Alpha. Tsunade believed her story, or at least wanted to believe it, but if she was here as a spy or here for intel, Kakashi would be able to handle her.

Lady Tsunade smiled a little as she watched him hesitantly sit down next to her. He kept watching her like he would be able to figure her out without talking to her. 

He moved to sit next to Alpha but didn’t settle into the cushion or let his guard down.

Alpha set her bottle down and moved another to him, “You should relax.” A laugh was hidden in her words as she spoke. She turned back to Tsunade.

How deep would she go with this? It was becoming far more involved than she would have liked. She wasn’t here to bond.

“She’s a fan of Jiraiya’s books like you are,” Tsunade started then turned to the window as someone caught her eye. She pushed one panel of the window open. 

“Who’s a fan of my books?” Jiraiya commented as he walked over. “Lady Tsunade, I know you’re not talking about yourself.” He sounded pretty serious as he opened the other panel of the window and stood next to the open window to look inside.

Alpha smiled and got up on her knees. She caught herself on the table after getting up too quickly. That’s a drunk reaction right? There was always a lot of stumbling and uncoordination amongst her friends when they would be drunk but her metabolism burned it off about as fast as she could drink it.

She shifted her weight to one hand as she reached for the book and grabbed it.

Kakashi watched her move and leaned back as she reached over the table. Her fishnet shirt was not making this any easier. He watched her triceps flex as she leaned over the table in front of him. His eye followed her as she moved.

She leaned back and turned to practically shove it in Jiraiya’s face.

“Master Jiraiya, can you please sign it?” She smiled at his reddening face.

Tsunade smiled as she watched Kakashi stare at her while she spoke to Jiraiya. “If you’re going to openly stare at her, you should at least be drunk.” 

Kakashi hesitantly pulled his mask down and started to drink. He didn’t like that he felt the numbing sensation of the sake almost immediately. He took another drink then put his mask back on. He looked at the empty cup and slowly got more.

He was reminded of why he only drank once a year. And why he shut people out.

He pulled down his mask to drink it all in one gulp then set the cup down. He noticed that she had sat back down by the shifted weight and it drew his attention back to the table.

Jiraiya joined them at the table a few moments later. He looked at Kakashi, “Naruto’s training went well. Except for a few things but we can discuss that later.” He turned to Alpha, “What’s your name?” He asked as he reached for his writing supplies in his bag, “So I know who I’m signing it for.” He looked at her and waited for her answer.

She put down the sake bottle, “my name is Alpha.”

He lowered his pen, “That’s an unusual name. Did you pick it out yourself?”

Alpha looked at him, “I was given my name by the people I defeated in battle.”

“If you defeated them then…” He turned to the book and opened the cover. 

“I always came out on top, so I changed my name.” Alpha spoke the partial truth behind her name. It’s meant to strike fear in her opponents before she engaged in battle with them to get their minds off balance before she attacked. “I can read a person’s power level so battle has always been easy.” She continued as he looked over at her.

He looked down at what he was doing and wrote in the book. When he was done, he pushed it away from him for the ink to dry and put his writing supplies away. Jiraiya looked at Kakashi as he drank from the sake cup then left the mask pulled down while he got more.

“Are you okay?” He said as he poured his own. “I’ve never known you to drink this much.” he took a sip and responded to Tsunade’s hand as it bumped his shoulder. He leaned to her.

“It’s because his soul mate walked in the front gates and he doesn’t know how to deal with it.” Tsunade’s whisper was not subtle. She smiled at Kakashi as she turned to him. She really loved pairing people together.

Kakashi turned red and glared at Tsunade for a moment. She was right, but no one knew Alpha. He looked at Jiraiya. The red haze over his cheeks remained as the embarrassment faded away. He hated the idea of it. They assumed too much from him. He understood their intentions but he knew he could never be drunk enough to let someone in, someone he just met, and just… let them in so easily. But…

He took another drink before his emotions got the best of him.

…she intrigued him. She’s a rogue shinobi with no other goal than to get an autograph and outrun the people who pursued her. She fought fluidly without hesitation and had moved before he had. Not to mention she jumped from a tree branch three stories off the ground and walked away from the landing. Who trains like that? Training so much that she wouldn’t need to rely on a team. 

Alpha rested the bottle on the table, “I’m just passing through. I wasn’t going to stay more than a day or two even if I hadn’t gotten Master Jiraiya’s autograph,” She smelled the sake on her own breath as she talked. “I never stay anywhere too long.”

“If you stayed too long it would get dangerous for you, I would assume.” Tsunade commented quietly as she looked at her sake bottle.

“It would get dangerous for the villagers around me too.” Alpha spoke and watched Tsunade nod.

“We would be able to protect you.” Kakashi told her without thinking about it first and he turned to her. He looked at his sake cup as she turned to him.

“Thank you, but it wouldn’t be fair to put the villagers in danger like that.” Alpha commented and watched him take a longer drink of sake. He has an interesting scar coming from the eye he kept covered.

“Our shinobi forces are the strongest around here,” Tsunade told her. “You’d be safe,” She pointed to Kakashi. “He’d protect you, I’m sure.”

“Like I said,” Alpha’s tone shifted slightly as she turned to Tsunade, “It wouldn’t be fair to put the villagers’ lives at risk. Shinobi and non shinobi are all villagers.” She focused on Tsunade and watched her process it.

“Your village tried to protect you…” Kakashi commented and kept looking at her even though she had turned away from him. “Is that why you believe that?”

Alpha nodded slowly, “I don’t care how powerful I am perceived to be, my life will never be worth more than the civilians who have nothing to do with my conflict.” She breathed in, “I’ve learned how to protect myself and not rely on others for protection.”

Tsunade looked between Kakashi and Alpha, “Have you two already met?” Her question jolted Kakashi out of whatever he was thinking about.

He sat up again and looked at her.

“Yeah, we have.” Alpha spoke before Kakashi could, “I was trying to regain my bearings and climbed the tree that is out front of his apartment.”

“I just wanted to know why you were there.” Kakashi leaned on the table and turned to her. He felt a wave of heat across his body when she looked at him.

“And who ended up pinned to the tree trunk?” Alpha asked while she watched him turn more to her and leaned one arm on the table.

“You just surprised me,” Kakashi knew his excuse was weak and Tsunade would see through it. “I didn’t see you move.” He mumbled in a deepening voice.

She turned to face him, “The only movement I saw from you was in your pants.” She lowered her voice to try to keep that more private, “Which was after you tried to defend yourself with a kunai and that didn’t work out in your favor either.”

He kept his voice quiet, “I don’t need to be reminded of that.” yeah that. The combat technique she had learned somewhere to walk into a weapon then pin her opponent down while they were going through shock. It had caused an unwelcomed bodily reaction that was currently straining against the bandages he wished he had tied tighter. His eye narrowed at her as he thought about it. Who was she really?

He leaned back on the back of the wall behind him and focused on breathing. He managed to get his mask back over his face and watched her drink more.

“Maybe you should get Kakashi home,” Tsunade spoke to Jiraiya. “Before they flirt too much in public at my table,” she turned to them as she spoke. “And before he embarrasses himself in public.”

Alpha put the bottle down and moved her arm around Kakashi as he leaned forward. She held him so he wouldn’t fall forward onto the table.

Her arm had moved around him before he noticed that he leaned to far over. She held him up against the wall but not tightly so he could sit on his own.

Alpha watched Jiraiya start to get up. His hand landed on Kakashi’s shoulder and Jiraiya pulled him a bit to move towards the edge of the seat.

“Let’s get you home,” Jiraiya commented as he helped Kakashi get over to the edge of the seat.

“You should go with them,” Tsunade pointed to him with her thumb. “It was nice to meet you, Alpha.” She pointed at the bottles as she counted them. “You’re buying if there’s a next time.” Tsunade smiled at her.

Alpha nodded, “Next time,” She said as she leaned for the book. She checked for dry ink and then closed the cover. She lifted her sheath and bag from next to the table and put on the sheath first.

“Do you use anything besides swords?” Jiraiya asked her as he watched her put her sheath on. He watched as she clipped the front clip then looked away when Kakashi moved to stand up.

Kakashi held onto the back of the booth and needed Jiraiya’s support more than he would have liked.

They watched as Alpha moved out of the booth. She put her shoes on and straightened up. She turned around to Tsunade. “Maybe we’ll meet again in the future.” She commented before she turned to leave.

“That would be nice,” Tsunade commented.

Jiraiya turned with Kakashi and walked him out of the restaurant. his steps were steady enough that he could walk but needed help to walk straight.

Alpha followed them slowly to see how uneven his steps were.

She walked beside them and took note of the afternoon sun. Sunset would be soon. The afternoon light lit up the walkways as it reflected off windows.

There weren’t a lot of people out, just others out drinking like they were.

Alpha grabbed Kakashi’s hand and moved his arm over her shoulder. She held onto his hand with her left and moved her right arm around his waist to support him.

“I’m not that drunk.” Kakashi commented as he took a step more towards her than forward.

“Jiraiya just came back from a long mission and probably doesn’t want to carry you back to your apartment.” Alpha told him while she wanted to lift him up off the ground so he wouldn’t stumble but she let him walk with her support. The pace was annoyingly slow.

“Pretty and strong,” Jiraiya said while he walked next to them. He looked at her, “I would be able to help him back to his apartment by myself, but since Tsunade asked for you to go with us...”

“Its fine,” She interrupted him. “I doubt you would have stopped me anyway.” She paused to readjust her grip on Kakashi’s waist as he stumbled again. “Kakashi, try to let me know ahead of time if you’re going to pass out before we get back to your apartment.”

He leaned on her more, “I’m just drunk, not sleepy.” He purposefully stumbled again but she still caught him. He felt like he had more control over his legs the more that he walked.

“How did Naruto’s training go?” Alpha asked Jiraiya and readjusted her grip on Kakashi as he slipped.

Her question almost startled him.

“Liar.” Alpha mumbled as she felt him slip again. She stopped and wrapped her arms around his waist to catch him. With one hand she unclipped her sheath and got it off one arm followed by her backpack strap. She balanced Kakashi in her arms but moved him so her sheath could come off.

She held up her sheath and backpack to Jiraiya. “I’m going to just carry him but can you carry these for me?”

Jiraiya held the straps of both and watched her maneuver under Kakashi. She moved his arms over her shoulders and leaned forward until she had a good grip on his legs.

Alpha straightened up and readjusted him so his head rested on her shoulder. Her hands supported his thighs and she walked next to Jiraiya.

“Why did you ask about Naruto?” Jiraiya watched her walk with ease even though Kakashi was unconscious on her back.

“It seemed like a conversation you wanted to have with Kakashi but I was also just curious if his training went well.” Alpha answered quietly and felt Kakashi’s arms wrap around her neck to hold on. “It might seem like fate but his name is the name of the main character in the book you signed.”

“Fate huh?” Jiraiya’s comment came off like a question.

“Yeah, it’s been something I’ve believed in for years.” Alpha answered, “There’s a lot that can happen but there’s always a few things that need to happen for fate to work out in favor of everyone else, you know?”

“Yeah, I…” Jiraiya didn’t know what to tell her. “I grew old getting caught up in what I thought was my fate. My destiny…” He absentmindedly grabbed one of her swords as it reflected the last light of the day. “I was supposed to train the savior of the world.”

Alpha looked at him, “Do you think you did?” She saw him hold her sword handle. “My swords use the wielders energy,” she nodded to the one as it started to glow. “as a weapon.”

He let go of it and the light died down. He glanced at her before answering. “I don’t know. I hope I taught him enough but I don’t feel like I did.”

“Quality training takes a lot of time,” She commented as they turned the corner to the apartment where Kakashi lived.

“We didn’t have a lot of time and that was the problem.” Jiraiya lowered his voice. “It’s hard to know what to teach him when there’s a time limit and when you know that the Akatsuki are after him.”

“Who?” Alpha asked and paused to wait for the answer.

“A group of shinobi who’ve left their villages and are after the Jinchuriki for something but whatever it is, it can’t be good.” Jiraiya whispered.

“And they’re after Naruto?” Alpha whispered back.

“I just hope my training was enough,” Jiraiya’s voice returned to a lower tone.

Alpha stopped completely and blinked.

Jiraiya saw a soft glow from her.

She looked at him with gold eyes. “Naruto becomes the hero of the world he is destined to be.” She waited for an answer and didn’t get one, “I’ve seen it.” She commented as she blinked away the gold light. “He saves the world, Jiraiya.”

“That’s good to hear,” Kakashi mumbled as he drifted back into consciousness. “You’re strong.” He breathed out. He hadn’t expected her to instantly decide to carry him when he put all his weight on her. It felt weird to be supported, to be carried, to feel… a slight degree of safe.

“Good. I’m glad” Jiraiya smiled, “And you were able to see the future?”

“As it currently stands, yes,” Alpha answered, “but, like I said before, things can change.” 

She watched Kakashi as he moved his arm to his face then felt his lips on her neck. Then he rested his head down on his arm again. 

Why did he just do that? Did he want to or was it the sake?

“I’ve gotta say it’s really weird to see Kakashi like this.” Jiraiya commented, “He never lets his guard down.” He looked up and stopped. “His apartment is up there.”

Alpha glanced at the tree then up at the balcony of his apartment. She turned to Jiraiya, “I know.” She held her hand out for her bag and sheath.

“I can at least help you up the stairs to the door,” Jiraiya offered but reached out to hand her the bag and sheath strap.

She put her arm through both then held onto Kakashi’s legs again.

He opened his gray eye when she did. Her grip was stronger than before. He held onto her tighter but didn’t know what to expect.

“Thanks but I’m okay.” She turned to Jiraiya, “I can handle him on my own.”

Jiraiya lifted an eyebrow and watched her walk over to the tree.

In two increasingly quicker steps, she pushed off the ground and landed on the tree trunk. Another anchored step into the trunk led to her back flip onto the edge of the tree branch. As it sank under her weight, she stepped onto the railing then dropped to his balcony. 

Kakashi’s grip didn’t relax for a few moments. She just…

Jiraiya had watched her jump and looked at the deep indents in the tree trunk from where she jumped off from. “I hope he can handle her,” He mumbled to himself, impressed by the effortless movements and graceful landing she had made with Kakashi on her back. She had been careful to make sure she didn’t drop him which can be hard to do midair.


	17. "It's a trap"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That iconic Star Wars line doesn't give anything away in particular for this chapter but this chapter was also edited into being more than one and i still like the title so it stays. 
> 
> Thank you to Obitoforpresident for beta reading this chapter and providing valuable feedback that ultimately made one chapter into two.

Alpha slid off the edge of the branch and landed on his balcony. She looked at the door and leaned to let Kakashi stand up. She held one arm out for him as he straightened up, just in case he stumbled but held onto him with the other anyway.

Standing up felt like it took too much effort. He couldn’t remember how much sake he’d had before Tsunade sent him home. But he was still conscious, which was what he preferred since Alpha had ultimately helped him get home.

Kakashi tried to widen his stance a bit to balance better and felt Alpha’s grip tighten around his waist but it seemed like a precaution.

As Alpha held onto his waist, she pointed two fingers at the lock and pointed upwards. There was a soft click and she put her hand on the door handle.

Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder, “Wait, I have a key.” He nearly slurred as he reached into his pocket for it.

Alpha looked up at him and slid the door open then held onto him again. “Okay but I already broke in.” She watched him focus on the open door.

“I know I locked that.” Kakashi mumbled as he held his key in his hand. He glanced at her then lifted his leg too high to get in and stomped on the floor.

“You did,” Alpha replied as she helped him inside. She slid the glass door shut behind her and rested her bag and sheath on the ground next to the closed door. She knelt down to unzip her shoes and took them off.

Alpha looked over and watched Kakashi take off his with ease. She stood up slowly and raised her arms over her head to stretch them. She turned around and saw that Jiraiya had already walked away.

She switched arms and felt Kakashi move to stand behind her. She lowered her arms and turned around.

Kakashi grabbed her arms and held them up as she tried to lower them, “then how did you unlock it?” He looked down at her with curiosity and didn’t expect her to answer truthfully, “You held onto me the whole time.” He heard his voice soften a little more than he would have liked.

She smiled just enough for him to notice and pointed two fingers with her right hand. His eye moved to watch them.

“Just like this,” She pointed up and the knot on the bandage around his thigh undid itself. “Does that answer your question?” She tilted her head a bit and relaxed her hand.

“It does,” Kakashi’s face flushed when his voice cracked as he felt the bandage unwind under his pants and fall down his leg to release his erection he hadn’t taken care of yet. He had just wanted to report her to Lady Tsunade… and now this was happening. He took half a step back.

He let go of her arms and looked away. He looked at the light of the day as it faded and jumped at her touch. Her hands gently rested on his hips but she didn’t move them like he had anticipated.

They’d read the same books right? Jiraiya didn’t write about anything like this. But, he assumed he wouldn’t have been able to write about this kind of scenario. Jiraiya would never be able to get this close to a woman without her getting angry at him.

Alpha brushed her fingertips up his sides over his shirt. Even with her powers shut down this much she could feel his lighting chakra fade between calm and erratic. It was similar to lightning that she coursed through her body to travel like she had to get to Konoha. But his was more like a lightning storm waiting for the right conditions to strike at the ground. Lightning was unpredictable like that, no matter how much control someone had over it.

“You’re a lighting style too?” She asked quietly and looked at him until he looked at her again. The faint light that came through the window reflected into his eye a bit and made it appear to glow in the sunset.

He put his hands on hers to make her stop moving her hands, “You’ve already sensed it so why ask?” His question came off as sober and for once he missed the numbness that alcohol brought. He didn’t even know if he was prepared for this night to go any further. When was the last time he even had someone else in his apartment?

Kakashi let out a soft sigh as she moved her hands off of him. That was different. He already missed the contact.

Kakashi closed his eyes as she moved her hand closer to his face and almost stepped back again. He also wanted to instinctively grab her arm to stop her from getting too close. But he felt his headband move and decided to let her remove it. 

Alpha moved slowly and waited for a hesitation of any kind from him. She saw his hand move a little but it stopped. She reached up and moved his headband over his hair. The scar on his eye started just above his eyebrow and ended somewhere under his mask. 

It reminded her of her own scar down her face that she always kept covered with her nanotech. Hers ended down her neck but it was still a scar on her face that would never heal completely.

His silver hair flopped to one side and looked really fluffy. She wanted to run her fingers through it but maybe that would happen later. She did, however, brush some of his hair back over his head and out of his face.

He kept his left eye closed and looked at her with his right. He watched her focus on moving his hair and kept his hands hovering in the air near her arms as they moved. He really didn’t know what to think of this or how he should react to her hand on his face specifically lightly touching the scar running down his cheek.

Kakashi slowly opened his sharingan eye and blinked a few times. She smiled softly at him as she pushed her thumb gently into the fabric of his mask.

He opened his jaw a little to speak but she kept her thumb there.

“I hide mine too.” Alpha whispered quietly. “But mine are further back in my jaw so they’re a bit easier to hide.” His were a normal canine fang set that interlocked with each other. “I let people see them when I stretch my smile over them.” She laughed quietly to herself, “but that’s always my excuse to fight more violently then I probably should.”

Alpha paused and watched Kakashi move one hand to her cheek. He pressed down and felt her fangs.

“Two?” He asked and his thumb went over both canines then down.

She put her hand on his and moved it further back, “three actually.” She watched his eyes widen a bit as he felt the third fang.

“How do you have three sets of fangs?” He moved his other hand to the other side of her face to feel the other set. 

She shrugged, “genetics I guess.” Speaking was a little difficult while Kakashi put pressure onto her teeth through both of her cheeks.

He moved his hands away from her, suddenly realizing what he was doing. “Sorry.”

She smiled more intensely than she had before, “don’t be sorry.” As she spoke he saw her fangs peak out from behind her smile. “It’s extremely rare to have fangs in the first place.”

“That’s true.” He commented quietly. “You said they were an excuse to fight more violently…”

“I did,” she replied as he trailed off. She ran her tongue over her top fangs on one side of her mouth before speaking again. “Your intimidation factor is important in combat and if you can expose your fangs with a big smile then do it. There’s nothing much better than watching an opponent back down after that.”

Kakashi closed his eyes as she spoke. He smiled a little and let out a soft chuckle, “Maybe you should have ‘flee on sight’ orders from every country.”

“Flee on sight orders?” Alpha asked and realized she was still holding his headband. She turned to put it on the table. She assumed it was self explanatory and she vaguely remembered having something similar a long time ago but she never let opponents flee very far.

“They’re what they sound like,” Kakashi started. “Other villages give certain shinobi ‘flee on sight’ orders if they’re too much of a threat to directly take on and it would be better to flee than to fight.” He rested his hands on hers as she moved them to his hips while he spoke.

“Do you have ‘flee on sight’ orders?” She asked as her grip tightened.

He moved his hands up her arms, “I do in a few countries but I don’t know if you believe that.”

She stepped closer to him, “Not really.” she smiled gently as she spoke, almost to tease him.

“Now you’re doing that on purpose.” Kakashi spoke and forced himself not to react to the sensation of her body pressing up against his dick that had grown more sensitive to touch during their conversation. He knew she could feel it but she hadn’t reacted to it. He squeezed her shoulders as his control over his body began to slip.

Alpha felt his lightning chakra spike after she had moved. It spiked again and again, almost with his rising heartbeat. She allowed faint traces of lighting to flash across her shoulders and over his hands as he held her.

Kakashi looked at the lighting as it moved over his skin. It didn’t hurt but it was too bright to look at.

That distracted him like she had wanted it to. She ever so lightly moved her fingertips over his hips a little bit. She watched his eyes drift closed and he let out a breath. “That,” She lifted her fingertips, “I did on purpose.”

His took a deep breath and let it go with his question. “what did you do?” his hips were warm and the sensation of pleasure faded away.

She held her hands up in between them and let the lightning dance on her skin. “It’s slightly less dangerous with another lightning type.” She spoke as he put his hands on hers. The lightning flashed up his arms and down his body. He held her hands tightly until it stopped. “I’ve learned that different degrees of lightning control can cause different effects on the body. This one is a very weak form of lightning that..”

Alpha paused to wait for him to straighten up again. His chakra felt like it was stuttering. She pointed two fingers and swept them over his chest then down his body then pointed them away from him. That motion discharged the residual electricity and allowed his nerves to function again.

“…plays around with nerve endings, to put it simply.” Alpha explained as he looked at her. He looked disheveled already.

“Do you know how dangerous it is to play with lightning?” Kakashi asked her but held her hands to his sides.

She nodded, “I just said this is the weakest degree of lightning control that I’ve learned to play with.” She moved her hands around his back and up his spine. Faint trails of lightning surged through him. The spinal cord would make it feel more intense than what she was actually doing. It’s a long, concentrated nerve cluster and to activate all his nerves at once…

Kakashi let out a faint whimper and held onto her as she moved one hand down to his hips and over his thighs.

She sent the faintest amount of electricity through her fingers, just enough to flicker past the nerves under his skin where her fingers touched.

“But I can stop, if you want.” She whispered as she moved her hand more.

Kakashi trembled under her touch and covered his mouth with his hand. His eyes rolled back as they closed. It felt amazing. He didn’t want it to stop.

A smile crossed her lips when he whined as she removed her hands from his thighs. “Is that…”

Kakashi opened his eyes and grabbed her hands. He watched her smile fade as she looked at the door. “What?” He breathed heavily. When did the room get this warm? Why did she move closer to him?

Alpha rested her hands on his sides under his ribcage as she recognized the presences from earlier that day as they got closer. She felt Kakashi straighten up as she did so.

He looked at the door as he sensed multiple presences land near his front door.

Alpha turned to his chest and moved back from him just enough to move her hands up his muscular build. The electricity had heated his internal body temperature a little too much and his racing heartbeat was making it worse.

Kakashi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I doubt they’ll go away until I talk to them.” he commented as Alpha got her fingers under the bottom of his shirt and started to move it off of him. “What are you doing?” 

She moved the shirt with her hands as she moved them up his abs, “You’re too hot.”

“I’m sure this will make me less hot,” he said as he raised his arms to help her get his shirt off.

“Physically no,” She spoke quietly. “But you’re internal body temperature needs to cool down before I can use the electricity on your nerves again.” She watched him lower his arms and she held his shirt until he took it from her to toss it onto the chair.

Alpha watched him start to fix his mask back into place.

He looked at her as he did, “Or what?” He spoke as he pulled his mask over his mouth. Fangs barely exposed by his lips as if he was trying to cover them up, even then. He watched for a reaction to his fangs that didn’t happen.

She couldn’t see his fangs while his mouth was closed. He didn’t have any visual signs of fangs on his skin. She looked at him and then spoke, “Or your body reaches lethal temperatures and you die.” Alpha answered as he looked at the door too.

“It’s not the worst way to die.” Kakashi mumbled.

“Considering I’ve watched people burn alive with what I would consider to be real lightning, yes. It’s probably one of the worst ways to die.” Alpha replied quickly. “Baby lightning bolts can’t kill you but organ failure will after extended exposure.”

Kakashi didn’t respond and turned to take a step towards the door. Alpha grabbed his wrist.

She didn’t make him look at her. She walked in step behind him and put her other hand on his back while they walked. Her hand faintly glowed green and it seeped into his skin. Her healing power felt extremely diluted but it might be enough for right now. 

His shoulders relaxed a little and he stopped, “What did you do?”

Alpha lifted her hand. “Just trying to pull some heat from your body so you don’t die.” She felt his other hand on top of hers.

He felt better. His breath had become easier to take in and his heart rate had almost instantly calmed down. Overall he did feel better but he also thought that maybe she did something more than just remove heat from his body.

Did he like having her around that much already?

“They’re not going to leave us alone until I talk to them,” Kakashi whispered to her. He saw her nod beside him. “I have no idea why they’re here.” He turned to whisper to her as he reached for the door. He unlocked it and opened it slowly as she stood beside him, both hands on his and she held his arm close to her body.

For that moment, he felt… safe.

But he reminded himself that she was going to leave in the morning and he probably wouldn’t ever see her again.

Kakashi opened the door enough to see four masked Anbu standing in pairs on either side of the open door. He felt Alpha move her head as she looked at them.

He wouldn’t speak first. He would wait for them to start this conversation.

They looked at each other as the silence between them grew painfully long. One deliberately looked at Alpha as she stood next to but a step behind Kakashi. Another looked at Kakashi.

“We’re making sure you’re okay, Kakashi.” He spoke as the others stood still.

“No one knows who she is,” the woman spoke and half pointed at Alpha. “Even the Hokage is worried.” 

Alpha wrapped her arms around Kakashi’s waist and rested her head on his shoulder from behind him, “Lady Tsunade didn’t seem worried when she told me to help get him home.” She looked at each of them as she spoke.

Kakashi looked away from the Anbu. He couldn’t believe he just heard her speak to them like that. He turned his head to kiss the side of hers, “Can you go wait in my bedroom while I talk to them for a minute?” He spoke quietly and his hands rested on her arms as they tightened around him protectively for a moment that didn’t last long enough. Or at least it’s what he thought was a protective hold around him.

“Sure,” she whispered back then kissed his neck through the fabric of his mask. “But don’t take too long.” She pulled her arms back and stepped away from the door. She walked quietly down the hall.

Kakashi looked at the four Anbu in front of him.

“Based on that,” One spoke quietly and gestured to him. “We know you won’t fight her off if she attacked you.”

“She already said she wouldn’t attack me,” Kakashi defended her.

“And you believed her?”

“She isn’t here to hurt anyone,” Kakashi continued. “She just wanted Jiraiya’s signature.”

“Conveniently the day he arrives back in Konoha?” Another asked and got him to look at him.

“If she isn’t, then tell us why Intel wanted us to watch her,” the woman spoke again. “Their reports show that she gave off a much stronger chakra signature than most of the shinobi in this village.”

“Inoichi compared it to the First Hokage’s chakra,” the other spoke again. “Just in case you wanted to know what kind of power you have wandering in your apartment.”

“Then I’ll keep her here and make sure she doesn’t leave.” He thought quickly and wanted to end the conversation. It’s probably true, what they’ve told him, but for some reason, he liked having her around. “She’s said multiple times that she’s going to leave the village tomorrow.”

They all nod hesitantly.

“That’s acceptable.” The woman commented before the four of them vanished in a blur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is now two chapters, this is the warning for the mildish nsfw stuff next chapter. 
> 
> ALSO: this is the official two chapter countdown announcement until Alpha starts her real mission. And that alone is a multi chapter upload too.


	18. Jiraiya Wishes He Wrote This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the NSFW warning before this chapter. 
> 
> Sorry for the delay in updating. I wanted to make this chapter perfect before I uploaded it and also work has kept me very busy. I haven't been able to sit down and edit or write in a few weeks. 
> 
> But anyway, here it is. The second part to this fan service-y section of the plot because it's Kakashi and it's my fic and I can do what I want.

Kakashi shut the door after the Anbu left his apartment’s doorway and sighed. He locked it quietly and slowly looked up as he turned around. Alpha had leaned on the wall with her hands behind her back and she watched him react to her. 

He didn’t know when she had gotten there, though. He hadn’t heard anything. 

Kakashi felt his cheeks heat up as he looked her over. She wore one of his long sleeve shirts. It almost fit her and was long enough to make it look like she wasn’t wearing shorts. Or was she wearing them at all? 

He quietly walked over to her and faced her, “I really hope you’re not a threat.” He looked down at her and spoke softly. He leaned his forearms on the wall on either side of her head and leaned closer to her. 

Alpha looked up to meet his eyes, “Tsunade would have known if I was a threat,” She spoke quietly with a gentle smile that formed on her lips as she looked up at him. 

“Tsunade was drunk,” He almost taunted her with his voice. “I would easily know if you were.” 

Without breaking eye contact, Alpha moved her hands over his hips and lightly over his skin under his waist band. She watched him try to keep his eyes open but clamped his jaw shut and took a quick breath in. 

The faint light of the lightning bounced off their bodies and up between their faces that were inches from each other. “Would you?” She asked in a low tone that taunted him more than he would have liked. She watched his eyes flutter shut as she moved her hands slowly, “Quivering under my touch like this,” she whispered as she moved her fingers along his thighs. 

It felt like his nerves were on fire but he didn’t want it to stop. It felt too good to let it stop.

Although it felt like he had surrendered to her, he trusted that she wouldn’t hurt him. He let her do what she wanted and just followed her touch on his skin, focused on every movement. He couldn’t resist the shudder he gave when she brushed over his lower abs.

One hand lifted off his body. 

She turned her head to whisper in his ear, “did you really talk to your Anbu friends like this?” As she spoke, she moved her fingers under his waistband and pushed his pants down just enough to expose his erection. Her fingertips lightly moved up his impressive erection. 

Kakashi moved his hands to her shoulders and held them tightly. His thumbs found a softer part of her neck to hold onto. He took in a quick breath, “You distracted me… and I didn’t forget bu…” His eyes drifted shut and his words turned into an unexpected moan as she moved one finger over the tip. He held his breath in his lungs as his mouth hung open while he drank in the sensations as she moved her thumb. 

The nerve endings there were the most clustered and the most sensitive. She smiled up at his reaction to her movements. She lifted her hands off his body suddenly. 

“Why did you stop?” he asked breathlessly into her neck as he rested his forehead there. 

Alpha gently moved her hands to hold his face to hers. He looked dazed. “Did you want to move this to the bed?” She rubbed a thumb across his cheek. 

He blinked slowly at her and nodded in her hands, “yes please.” He spoke as he turned to move but her hands slid down past his hips quicker than he could react to the movement.

He tried to walk but his legs gave out against what he wanted them to do. 

Alpha had moved faster than he did. She squatted enough to grab him just under his butt and waited for him to regain his balance. She held her hands on his thighs and looked up at him knowing what she looked like to someone who’d never done this kind of thing before. 

Kakashi stood up again and leaned back against the wall. She hadn’t let go of him. He looked down at her. What would she do next?

His dick nearly touched her cheek. 

She smiled a little and turned her head just enough to hear him gasp. She traced one hand across his thigh and delicately held it near his dick. A silent moment went by, filled only with Kakashi’s shallow breaths as he waited for her to move. 

Alpha didn’t wait much longer before she turned her head and gently planted her lips on his girthy shaft and pressed it into her hand. She took in a deep breath and as she let it out, faint slivers of light danced over her skin and onto his. 

Kakashi’s eyes shut and he could only feel how faint the electricity was as it passed over the most sensitive part of his body. He leaned his back into the wall and felt her other hand grip into his thigh more. Pleasure washed over his pelvis and hips as the lightning travelled up his torso.

It was different from before. More gentle. More… It almost fluttered across his skin rather than solely try to play with his nerves.

He could concentrate this time. But why was it different? 

Her lips disappeared but her fingertips made their way behind him again. 

He grabbed her arms as she moved them, “what about the bedroom?” His arms moved with hers but he was sure he had tried to hold her arms still. 

Alpha wrapped her arms around him and slowly lifted him up off the ground. One hand on the back of one thigh and the other supported his hips so he didn’t fall off her shoulder behind her.

He put his hands on her back above her hips, “I can still walk.” he held himself up a bit. It felt weird to be carried. Usually he’s the one carrying others. 

He reached down to lift the bottom of the shirt up. The moonlight from the window enhanced her tattoo on her right hip. It wrapped to the back of her thigh and wasn’t any sort of seal that he could figure out. He slid his hand up her back a bit and held onto her hip. Her butt flexed as she moved and he liked watching it. 

“Enjoying the view?” Alpha asked as she turned the corner. 

Her strength rivaled his, why wouldn’t he enjoy the view? But was it okay to tell her that?

“I could have walked,” Kakashi started. “I didn’t need to be carried.” The muscles on her back flexed and relaxed as she walked. It explained how she had been able to jump up the tree with him over her shoulder in this same way. 

“Well,” she passed through his bedroom door frame. “I wasn’t going to let you find out if you could walk or not and then fall over. You were barely standing and relied on the wall for balance.” Alpha spoke as she lifted one leg onto the bed and carefully laid him on top of the sheets. 

Kakashi put his hands down as she moved him and leaned on them. As she lifted one hand up he felt pain. Her grip tightened on his other thigh, which also hurt. 

“Sorry,” she said as she felt his quads contract. “You’ll be sensitive to sensations for a while.” She spoke gently as she moved his pants off of him. She tossed them onto the floor and settled between his legs. 

Kakashi almost wanted to run from this situation he’s never been in before. Why did he trust her so much so easily? She hadn’t hurt him yet and has only done things he found that he liked. But now… being so exposed… 

He moved his hands over hers as they settled on his hips. “You’ve done this before?” 

Alpha leaned on her knees. She put her weight on her hands by his sides and leaned down to his face, “A few times.” She pulled off his mask with one hand and gently kissed his cheek, purposefully pushing her lips into his fangs, “But you haven’t and I wanted to see how much you can handle.” As she sat back, her fingertips traveled over his toned abs. She felt them flex as he breathed with anticipation. 

“Don’t underestimate how much I can handle,” Kakashi moved his hands to the sheets “But there’s more?” 

Her hands roamed his hips and thighs as he looked at her. She answered his question with faint electrical pulses through his nerves and muscles. 

They were more intense this time, closer together and faster. He couldn’t anticipate them so he stopped trying to. 

He leaned his head back against the bed as the pulses sent waves of pleasure across his body. His leg moved and he left it bent. 

Alpha moved the electricity in rings up and down the nerves in his dick like she did before but it was more intentional this time rather than to tease him.

She watched his reaction as she slid her hands over his hips and back towards his butt. She dragged him towards her and propped his hips up on her legs enough so that she could press into his skin near the base of his spine. 

She smiled a bit as his leg clamped to her side as she pressed her hand into that sensitive spot and sent faint traces of lightning through it to see what he could handle. 

Kakashi couldn’t put his hand over his mouth in time to completely muffle the moan he let out. He tugged at the sheets with his other hand and arched his back a bit as he reacted to the next wave. 

She moved the faint traces of lightning in a current from the tip of his dick and down through his body to brush past his prostate then back again. It seemed relentless and harsh, even to her, but he didn’t give her any reason to stop, especially when he bucked his hips with the slight movement of her hands. She could tell he was close. 

A few circuits later, he arched his back and pushed his hips into her hands as his body flexed. He grabbed at the pillow and pulled it as his jaw hung open a bit and held his breath for the drawn out orgasm. 

Alpha watched his fangs gleam in the moonlight as she felt the muscles in his dick convulse and she quickened her pace to move with it until he came all over his stomach. 

After a moment he breathed quickly in short breaths that carried soft moans with them. Pleasure washed over him and his body relaxed into the bed. Her hands slowed to a stop as he breathed. 

Alpha gently pulled the electricity away from him as she felt his muscles relax more. She wanted to be sure what lingered of the orgasm had been felt too. 

She looked at the cum on his chest and stomach. How his hands still pulled at the sheets as he caught his breath. He had turned his face into the pillow a bit and still clung to it. She rested one hand on his thigh until he moved his leg back onto the bed. 

_Are you done being distracted? The sun has been down for a while._

_I’ve still got time._ Alpha replied. She expected Mirrikh to be irritated. 

She took off Kakashi’s shirt that she had worn and used it to gently clean him off. Her fishnet undershirt was the only thing she had on. 

Kakashi smiled as he felt the shirt on his stomach. He opened his eyes to look at her. “I was going to wear that tomorrow,” His weak voice disappeared into a whisper while he released the sheets. His breaths calmed down as he watched her. He weakly grabbed her arm as she tossed it to the floor. He looped his fingers through the fishnet and pulled her to him until she lay next to him. 

She settled on the bed next to him and guided him to roll onto his side with her arm.

He wrapped his arms around her and she tucked one under his neck to hold his head to her chest. She moved to her back and stayed still as he settled onto her. One hand held hers and the other draped over her stomach.

He sighed heavily as his body relaxed for once in his life. He wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could because he knew she would leave in the morning. He let out a soft chuckle and moved to kiss her neck. 

“What?” She asked quietly and ran her fingers through his hair so it wasn’t in her face as much. 

“I’m never getting that again since you leave in the morning.” his tired, husky voice sounded sad to her. “Do you really need to leave?” he rested his head on the pillow and pushed his forehead into her neck. He let out another sigh. 

“It’s not safe if I stay too long,” She whispered back. She moved her free hand to hold his cheek as she kissed his head. She felt his hand on hers and he held it close to his chest. 

He took in a long deep breath and let out a satisfied sigh. “I’ve never let anyone get this close to me,” Kakashi whispered. 

“Physically or emotionally?” Alpha asked as she leaned her head back more into the pillow. 

Kakashi laughed quietly, “both.” 

“Are you afraid to?” She asked as she lightly moved her fingers over his back. His arm tightened around her a bit. 

“Anyone I’ve gotten close to…” He whispered to her. “…has died.” he paused, “Or left for one reason or another.” His genin team had gone off to train with the Sanin, though Sasuke had abandoned the village to go to Orochimaru. 

“Well,” She held him tightly and kissed his forehead. “I am very hard to kill.” She rested her chin on his head. “The best thing you can do is make peace with the fact that you’ve lost comrades and use it to make you stronger rather than let it drown you.” 

“Is that how you dealt with losing your village?” Kakashi asked but also thought about what she’d said. It sounded reasonable but would be hard to do at this point in his life. 

“Over time, yes.” 

He breathed in but hesitated to speak, “Have you ever killed a comrade?” As he asked the question that referred to the one thing that haunted him more than anything else, he didn’t feel like he would fall apart. He looked at his right hand as the silence stretched out. 

Alpha moved to hold his right hand with her left, “No I haven’t. But there must’ve been a good reason to do such a thing.” 

He moved to hold her hand in both of his as he spoke, “The Mist made her a Jinchuriki and wanted her to return to the village so it would rampage and destroy it.” Kakashi dragged out his words but he felt better as he spoke to Alpha. 

Alpha’s eyes blankly looked around the ceiling. “hmm,” She could feel her eyebrows press together as she tried to think of a strategic reason behind it. Fifteen years of warfare mixed with ten years of political training and countless hours of making peace treaties could not give a good one. 

“She just jumped in front of me…” Kakashi continued. “…I was going to fight the Mist Anbu…” 

Alpha listened to him but was caught up with the reason and interrupted him. “So they expected a Leaf shinobi to not try and stop an attempt to destroy the Leaf Village…” Her pause was too long for Kakashi. “Unless the whole point of it all was to get her killed in the first place and it actually didn’t have anything to do with that Jinchuriki rampage plan.” She sighed. “But that doesn’t make sense either.” However, it was the only other option that made any sort of sense. 

Kakashi was quiet. He hadn’t considered that. “Why use Rin like that?” 

“If I ever infiltrate the Mist, I’ll be sure to ask.” Alpha wanted to change the subject now so Kakashi didn’t think about it too much. 

“Do you know how violent their shinobi are trained to be? How would you get past the front gate?" Kakashi’s tone shifted a bit. 

“Those swords I carry aren’t just for show,” Alpha answered. “I do know how to use them.” 

“Right, and they absorb your chakra or whatever you told Jiraiya.” Kakashi commented and looked at her. 

“Exactly. They’re an extension of my abilities.” Alpha whispered back. She turned her head to face Kakashi’s. 

“More than just lightning?” He mumbled quietly. “I’ve copied enough techniques to use all five chakra types.” 

“My swords are good for redirecting attacks,” Alpha commented. “To send them back at the attacker.” She smiled, “I guess that’s similar.” 

“It’s close enough.” Kakashi whispered and felt her lips on his head again. He could feel himself falling asleep. 

Her lips lingered as she used her green aura to make him sleep. She felt sad unexpectedly, to know that she had to leave. 

But were they his feelings or hers? 

Kakashi took a deep breath in as his eyes drifted closed, “Please don’t leave.” He whispered into her neck as he drifted into unconsciousness. His grip loosened on her hand and his breaths were soft. His facial expression relaxed and he felt at peace. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, at least Alpha didn't hurt him. 
> 
> Danzo's canon death, to me, is very underwhelming. These next few chapters, however, are not. I am excited to show off some more of Alpha's powers and show what it's like to be on the receiving end of her 'intent to kill' attacks.


	19. "Who is the monster and who is the man?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blood trigger warning and death descriptions got a little more graphic than I originally planned.  
> This is a longer chapter because I had a specific spot where I wanted to end it but kept editing stuff into the chapter.

Alpha didn’t get up right away and she could sense Mirrikh’s irritation. It made her smile a little.

She watched Kakashi breathe calmly and put one hand on his chest. His heart rate had slowed to a pace she knew was safe. She cupped her hand so that her thumb and middle finger were on his skin. She moved them down his pecks and abs to read his internal body temperature. Some of his muscles contracted to her touch but he didn’t wake up.

She sat up as she moved her arm.

Her hand stopped at the bottom of his lower abs and she flattened out her hand. She held it over his skin and couldn’t wait to power up. The faint yellow glow was not what she wanted. But it would remove excess body heat.

She raised her hand a little more over his body and watched the air ripple over his skin as the heat left his internal organs. The heat moved up and over her arm to her shoulder before it disappeared.

His chest rose in a deep breath and he let it go a moment later. His arm wrapped around her waist where she sat.

She put her hand on his forehead and kept the faint green glow there until his arm relaxed again. She moved it so she could see the burn marks that were fading into view. She hadn’t left yet because she needed to see the damage and would know if she needed to heal anything or not.

The burn marks resembled lightning and took a faded brown shade. There was a main trail from where her hands had been and smaller volts branching out a little bit, mostly across his lower abs.

She watched hand prints on one of his hips fade into view. She sighed to herself and put her hand on it. She lined up her fingers and a faint green glow healed the burn so it was less noticeable.

The other burns hadn’t been that dark so they wouldn’t hurt much. She assumed his pain tolerance was fairly high, given his career choice.

She decided to leave the rest of the burns to heal on their own. They didn’t even count as first degree burns so he should be okay.

 _They’re just lightning burns._ Mirrikh spoke into her head. _Let’s go._

Alpha rolled her eyes and shook her head. She moved her hands under his shoulders and lifted him up. She held him close to her and made sure his head rested on her shoulder before lifting up his legs. She let her faint green aura expand over the back of his body and lift him up off her hands.

She moved the blanket and sheets and watched the green aura gently lay him down into the bed. She waved her hand towards him and the green aura responded by rolling him onto his side so she could see his back. The burns passed over his hips and across his butt then back to the front but the shade of burn was the same as the rest.

He grabbed the pillow and tucked it between his head and shoulder more.

He woke up again?

She leaned on the bed on one knee and grabbed his arm as he moved it to her. He grunted in response and pulled her to him. She leaned on her hand and pinned his arm to the pillow.

Her left hand made its way between his cheek and the pillow. She leaned in to kiss his scar across his cheek, his temple and then his forehead again. She let go of his arm and moved her hand over her torso, palm up. She moved her arm up and watched the green aura become more saturated.

She breathed in as she felt her powers return. She felt him slip into a deeper sleep and knew he wouldn’t wake up unless she wanted him to.

Her heightened senses returned as well and she was too close to Kakashi. The urge to protect him overwhelmed her as his scent drew her in. She started to smile.

She moved her hand under his neck and kissed him there.

 _Alpha no._ Mirrikh spoke into her head again.

When she lifted her head she saw her kiss mark disappear.

 _You’re here to kill Danzo remember?_ Mirrikh nearly growled. _And now I can’t kill him. Thanks for that._

Alpha lifted herself away from Kakashi and stood up. She hesitantly pulled her hand off his face, her thumb lingered on his scar.

She let him go and swiped her hand to the side and waited for the blankets to cover him.

She moved one hand in a circle and pointed her fingers to her body. The clothing reappeared in an orange glow and she breathed deeply. She let out black aura from her breath and turned to leave the room. The apartment had a faint orange glow to it but she knew that was because of her eye color change.

Once in the kitchen, she opened the fridge and nearly ripped the door off as she held it open. She looked at a water bottle and watched it lift off the shelf. It hovered in the air and she watched it float across the room. It landed on the nightstand next to Kakashi’s bed.

She closed the door and turned to her swords. She picked up the sheath and clipped the straps together. She rolled her shoulders to get it in the right place on her back.

The bag was next. She opened it and put her shoes inside. The bag disappeared as she waved her hand again.

 _I am never powering down again_ Alpha spoke to Mirrikh and turned to the glass door. She had alerted the nearby Anbu. They were just leaving Intel across the village.

The glass door opened in front of her and closed behind her as she stepped into the night air.

The bag landed on the floor near Mirrikh as he sat there in the middle of the room with his fists together trying not to be angry because she would know immediately. 

“What’s going on?” Itachi asked from Kisame’s lap. He held onto one of his arms. “Is she finally going?”

Mirrikh opened his eyes and looked at him, “Yeah, she’s finally going to kill Danzo.”

“What took her so long? The sun’s been down for a while.” Kisame asked and held onto Itachi more as he tried to move.

Mirrikh closed his eyes again. He would let her explain the mortal version of elemental god sex she just did with Kakashi. Except when gods do that, it was far more violent and would definitely kill a mortal almost instantly.

“She was drinking with some shinobi she met.” Mirrikh answered after some silence. “It took longer than she had thought.” He could hear the irritation in his voice. “But yes, she’s finally going to kill Danzo.”

Alpha didn’t sense anyone immediately nearby.

Silent footsteps across the balcony and onto the railing, “finally.” She said as she breathed out faint black air up into the sky.

With a calm and smooth leap, she landed on the tree branch and ran up the tree trunk to the top. Her weight bent the top of the tree but she was able to anchor herself there. She squatted to keep her balance better.

She held up one arm and evaluated the energy waves. Most people were inside except for some patrols and some civilians that were still out.

Her escape route would be the way she came in. If she could get there without killing anyone else.

Alpha pulled her arm in and rested her fingers over her lips. She closed her eyes.

 _Why didn’t you kill him?_ Mirrikh asked. _That would have kept him out of the way._

_Only one person dies tonight._ She responded as his powers caused her skin to turn black. She opened her eyes and turned her hand in front of her face as the black turned her nails into claws. She could see clearly in the darkness and knew her irises would be orange against black sclera to look like they glowed.

She felt shoulder armor as it moved and settled into place then extended over her forearms to form gauntlets. Out of the side and beyond her elbow stretched a pointed piece that would become a blade if she wanted it to.

She breathed in and rolled her head and focused ahead of her at the mountains as she started to feel the anguish from the outskirts of the village from an abandoned clan home.

Her smile exposed her fangs.

Alpha leaned forward into the air and rested her hand in front of her on what felt like solid ground. As she moved her arm out, a black blade extended from her forearm then rested against her skin as she lifted her arm to look at it. There was one on both arms.

She jumped from the tree towards the rock of faces at one end of the village. Her feet landed on the air and she ran across it over the rooftops to be low but to also keep her from being seen or heard.

Mirrikh looked at the bag and felt her take his power. He looked over at Itachi and Kisame.

Itachi hadn’t let go of Kisame’s arm since the sun went down and the bedroom light had been turned on by Mirrikh as he waited.

They hadn’t moved except to drink tea and eat some food that Konan had brought them.

She had asked about updates but he’d cut off the connection until nightfall. She hadn’t returned since then.

Mirrikh’s sudden smile unnerved Kisame a little bit.

“She’s started the hunt.” He commented and straightened up. He put his fists together and felt his horns grow. He breathed out black air like she did and also felt the pain of the Uchiha clan. He looked at Itachi for a moment as his blue eyes started to glow. He had turned away from Mirrikh and Kisame held onto Itachi with both arms now. 

“The hunt?” Kisame asked.

Mirrikh’s smile was similar to Alpha’s, if not more sinister. He nodded and started to levitate. “This is going to be something to remember.” He closed his eyes and breathed as black aura jetted from his back. He opened one eye to see black aura wings stretch out. He let out a grunt of approval before he closed his eye again.

Alpha’s black wings trailed behind her as she ran towards the target. She jumped over pathways and raced across the air to close the distance. Her arms out behind her, claws flexed. She breathed heavily as the power raced through her.

Her claws sliced through the air and clouds formed slowly to cover the moon. She appreciated the growing darkness that she created.

She breathed in sharply, “Have I ever commented on how hateful this world is?” She let out a chuckle and heard her voice deepen like it had before. She breathed in and caused a wave of black to cross over her body. She straightened up and breathed out through parted fangs. Black aura moved with her breath.

“It’s almost like they’re itching to start a war.” She growled and jumped over a taller building, claws scratching through the surface of the wall as she passed by. “Pathetic.” She smiled and soared through the darkening sky. She felt her armor form over her chest and over her waist and legs down to her calves.

She knelt down and jumped horizontally. She pulled her legs up and jumped off another structure. Each jump propelled her faster.

Her eyes followed the furious blend of Uchiha blood. It glowed red in the darkness and it concentrated at one point in particular. 

She let her claws fly out as she passed through another barrier but didn’t think much of it. There was a kill to make and nothing would stop her.

She stretched her legs out and landed on a large building with a round roof, ran to the other side and jumped upwards. Her wings flexed out and she hovered in the air as her velocity slowed down.

There were several buildings on top of the cliffside with the faces of people she didn’t recognize. There were many windows in the rock itself. She breathed out as she turned her head to look at all of them. Her eyes darted to each one. None of them had the energy signature she was looking for. But there were many around.

It looked like they were getting ready for something, milling around like ants in a colony.

The thought of it made her power spike so much that the armor generated small spikes that moved around with her energy. She breathed in to calm down enough to concentrate.

Her orange eyes raked across the energies beyond those. The one she was after was by itself. There were several nearby, however and may turn into unnecessary obstacles. 

Alpha pinpointed where she would go. She focused straight ahead of her at the Uchiha energy she’d been sensing since she arrived. She felt her iris’s narrow and her field of vision zoomed towards the window.

The light shut off as she looked at it.

She blinked, vision back to normal, and raised her arm. Lengthened claws pointed to the sky as lighting struck her.

She vanished.

It was quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time but it didn’t bother him. He sat at the desk and waited.

Lighting flashed near his window and caused him to cover his eyes. He didn’t hear anything or sense any chakra, not even through the sharingan in his eye he kept covered.

Alpha stood up in the darkness and kept her eyes closed to gain her bearings in the room. It was a lot more intense here. She breathed out and made sure he could hear her. Spikes grew out of her back along her ribcage and pointed up to the ceiling.

“I know you’re there,” Danzo spoke to her in the dark room. “I can tell you’re not a shinobi.”

Alpha straightened up, arms at her sides. She willed lightning to strike near the window and opened her eyes when it lit everything up.

Danzo saw her outline. Armor he’d never seen before and unnatural orange glowing eyes glared at him from across the room. He moved his chair back slowly.

“Good,” Her voice didn’t get him to jump. “I’m glad you know I’m here.” She took a step forward and felt her power burn through the floor as she walked. It made a sharp hissing sound. She raised her claws to the side so he could see them in the following lightning flash. “I’d hate to give you a heart attack before I could kill you.”

He stood up, “It’s presumptuous for you to assume you can win.” He raised his arm slightly and waited for the two root members outside his door to come in.

Alpha smiled to reveal white fangs. “And you haven’t survived this encounter yet,” She pronounced a harsh ‘t’ at the end of her sentence and jerked her head to the side as two people landed next to her.

Danzo turned on the light on the table to see her. He took a startled step back as she raised her black arm. He watched her claws move in the air.

What was she?

Alpha held her arm up and deactivated the electromagnetic field around their cells. They stopped midair. They had their arms raised, one had a sword. She watched them fade away and looked at Danzo again.

He watched his top two root shinobi turn to ash. The sword hit the ground on top of a pile of ash that she stepped in as she walked towards him. He pushed on the wall behind him and it moved to reveal a doorway. As he slipped through he heard her speak again.

“You are the biggest coward I’ve had the pleasure of chasing down,” Her voice preceded her movements into the hallway.

There were other foundation members waiting for her in the hallway. She saw them clearly but didn’t know if they could see her in the darkness.

Alpha grabbed the sword of the nearest person and turned the tip into their neck and forced it upwards. She took a step to the side and dodged someone else’s sword as the body took the impact for her. One more step to the side to turn around, claws aimed to the chest of the person.

He lunged forward at her and was stopped by her claws. They cracked through his ribs and sliced through his organs. His ribcage pulled on his body as it rested his weight on her arm. He couldn’t breathe. His ribs crushed his lungs. She grabbed the beating heart and waited for it to stop as the blood drained down her arm and onto the ground. Their arms dropped.

She felt his heart stop and lowered her arm to drop the body.

“What a waste of training.” She commented to herself then turned to follow where Danzo had run. She lifted her arm and swirled her fingers so the blood would move off her arm. She flung it to the wall as she walked.

Mirrikh’s head jerked to the side a few times, “She’s never done that before.” He straightened up and a few moments of silence passed.

“Done what?” Kisame quietly asked as Itachi’s grip tightened on his hand. He leaned to kiss Itachi’s head.

Mirrikh’s eyes snapped open. “What the fuck did this man do for her to be so unforgiving?” He didn’t expect an answer from the other two in the room. He continued to levitate and kept his fists together.

“Is this why you didn’t have a plan?” He asked as he closed his eyes again. “The situation in the moment would determine how fast you would go full scale war god before killing him? Which you’re already at the basic levels of?”

He spoke out loud and waited for her response.

“Of course,” Alpha’s answer was heard by Itachi and Kisame as well. Her voice shifted and dragged the words, “Political purges are my favorite type of assassinations. You know that.”

Itachi turned to Mirrikh a bit, “that doesn’t even sound like her.” He saw the wings stretch out from Mirrikh’s back and the horns on his head.

“At least you can’t see what she’s doing.” Mirrikh responded, “She’ll sound normal again when this is over.” 

She reached up to the face of her next attacker and jolted forward enough to throw him to the ground. She held her arm up as she watched him fall. His skull cracked and imploded on itself as it hit the ground. The body did not move. She lowered her arm, straightened up and walked down the hall.

The light at the end seemed promising. She stopped in the doorway and hovered over the ground to see the tall tower filled with more people. They stood on the walkways, railings and some were even on the walls.

Her orange eyes darted around at them as she moved her head across the distance of the room. She slowly moved her head toward Danzo at the back.

“They will not slow me down.” Alpha’s voice echoed in the tower. She stepped forward on the path and waited for the attack to begin. She held her hand up before they moved.

Danzo looked around. He looked at the ones near him, “Why aren’t you moving?” He shouted at the nearest foundation members. They didn’t move at all. He couldn’t see them breathe either. He looked at her as she crossed the walkway with her arm up.

“They are not moving because I am not allowing them to move.” Alpha answered his question as she got to the middle of the path. Her voice echoed in the tower. She moved around the still bodies as she moved across the walkway.

Danzo stepped back and looked around. This kind of power he had always wanted for himself. He looked at Alpha.

As she passed members, they fell to the ground. In a blur she appeared in front of Danzo. The rest of the foundation members fell from wherever they had perched.

Danzo glanced to the side as he heard bodies hit the bottom of the tower. Railings were hit. Spines crushed as the bodies hit the paths at the wrong angles and continued to fall down past him.

He looked behind her and saw a few get up. They looked at Danzo and ran to defend him. He looked at her then stepped back.

She waited for the three to get close enough. She looked at Danzo and watched his reaction to three more foundation members turning to ash as they tried to get near her.

“Is that all of them?” Alpha asked as she took a step forward. “Or do you have more pawns to throw at me in an attempt to slow me down and give yourself a few more seconds to live?” She lowered one arm and held it out for the blade to extend.

“Where are you from?” Danzo asked. “Who sent you?” He took a few steps back.

Fear. She could smell it. She smiled as he spoke.

The blade moved forward enough for her to hold it in her hand. Alpha jumped past him and lowered her blade. She stood up and turned around.

The cloth and bandages that held his arm to his body had been cut away.

Danzo moved his arm out and slowly removed the rest of the bandage that hadn’t been cut. “That attack was precise as if you didn’t want to hurt my arm.” He turned to face her. “Who told you?”

“That’s a lot of questions for a dead man.” She spoke as she pushed her arms down and back. The stone wall burst open inwards. Stones flew past Alpha and hit the ground near Danzo.

The night sky was still covered with clouds.

“It’s time we took this fight outside.” Alpha spoke quickly as she moved her arm back again. In her hand appeared a bright glow. As it expanded she moved her arm in a circle then threw it in Danzo’s direction while holding onto one end of it. The light whip wrapped around his arms and she waited for the end to connect with the rest of it.

Alpha pulled on it and stepped back as he flew past her. She turned around as he flew out of the hole in the wall. The light whip unwound and let him go. She jumped onto the edge of the hole and held her arm up.

Danzo looked around as he was suspended in midair. “Are you going to turn me to dust too?”

Alpha smiled and stepped out onto the air. She stood still before taking another step. “No.” She raised her other hand. “That’ll be far too easy.” with her index and middle finger pointed at him she motioned diagonally upwards.

A split formed in the bandages around his eye and revealed another sharingan.

He grabbed at the nothing that surrounded his neck while he looked at her. “Who are you?”

She lowered her claws, “You will not have the pleasure of knowing who killed you.” She swiped them to the side.

His hands flew to his neck but the blood seeped through his fingers.

She closed her eyes as Mirrikh’s energy joined hers. She looked down as his iris’s joined hers. Two sets of irises looked at Danzo now.

“They want to save you,” Alpha and Mirrikh spoke together as Mirrikh’s senses expanded hers around the immediate vicinity to reveal that forces had gathered but were not moving in. She raised her arm again and his power engulfed hers as black tendrils crawled across her arm. They writhed over her skin to her fingertips.

A moment passed before they shot across the air.

Danzo closed his eyes.

“You are unworthy of rescue.” Alpha and Mirrikh spoke together. The tendrils had hit his shoulder and wrapped around his arm just below the shoulder socket. They tightened and continued to tighten.

Danzo tried to scream but only blood pushed out of his neck.

Alpha walked over to him on the air.

Lightning flashed near them. thunder followed.

Alpha raised her claws at him. At his sharingan eye specifically. She felt that he tried to move his arm so the tendrils tightened more around his arm. He closed his eyes.

The black tendrils writhed over one another and spun as they moved. Alpha made them cut into his skin.

His arm went limp as he hung in the air. He opened his eyes to watch her get closer to him.

“Why should you be saved when you are responsible for the deaths of many?” Their voices spoke together again. Hate filled Mirrikh’s vocals and almost turned the question into a growl.

She raised her hand and faced her palm to the sky then moved it into a fist.

The tendrils cut through the rest of the skin, through the bone and held onto the arm as it fell. The tendrils moved the arm to her hand as she opened it.

“Dishonorable use of stolen power. hm.” She commented as she felt intense grief from the souls of the eyes. She looked at Danzo, “Your soul means nothing to me.”

She raised her right arm, blade pointed to Danzo’s neck. In one swift movement the blade cut through his throat and guided her arm through the blood. She felt her claws go through the tissues and muscles but stopped when her ring finger and middle finger were on both sides of his spinal column. She let gravity pull his body down until she held the base of his skull in her hand. The tips of her claws on her thumb and pinky finger rested on his face. Blood dripped down her arm.

She turned to the arm in her left hand and breathed calmly as flames engulfed the arm. The skin nearly evaporated from the heat and left the eyes. She moved her fingers to balance them in the flames before they too burned up in the flames.

Black tendrils crawled up Danzo’s face from her arm and twisted around themselves until they reached his right eye. The pointed tips of the tendrils leaned up into the air then jabbed into the eye socket. They were careful around the eye when they pulled it out.

Alpha carefully held it with the claws from her thumb, index and middle fingers. She looked to see the blood trickling from the eye socket.

The memories in this eye almost overwhelmed Alpha.

Mirrikh gasped from the pain and gritted his teeth shut as tear stains engraved themselves onto his face down his cheeks.

Danzo grabbed her wrist to lift himself up. “They were too strong. they…”

Spikes shot through his hand and he dropped back down.

“You feared them.” Mirrikh’s voice joined hers again. “So you restricted the entire clan as a preemptive measure that was destined to fail.” She squeezed her hand as flames surrounded them. “You will drown in the blood of the innocent.” Black lightning shot out from her eyes as the memories played screams, fear could be felt and tears were shed.

Alpha held out her arm for a moment too long. She hesitated along with Mirrikh. Something shifted. Something changed that was beyond either of what their power allowed. 

“Alpha did you open the gates?” Mirrikh asked out loud. His eyes still closed but he turned to the side.

“You know I can’t open the gates to the afterlife.” She replied out loud and turned as green flames engulfed her arm. She watched the green flames form armor that held itself over her in the green flames. It moved up her neck and covered half her face.

As she looked up at it, she could see half a jaw line, smiling teeth, fangs and a glowing eye in the armor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope Danzo's death is as gratifying for you as it was for me to write. There's at least one more chapter of plot until his heart stops beating.


	20. Memories Never Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay in an update but I moved and work has somehow gotten busier. 
> 
> This is a longer chapter. I plan to have long chapters like these from now on just from the amount of content I want to cover. And I'm sure my updates will not be consistent at all.

Mirrikh turned his head to the side and kept his eyes shut. His brows pushed together to try to understand what he was seeing. Armor made out of green fire?

“Who’s green fire armor is that?” Mirrikh asked. “And how did it get past the gates?” he opened one eye when he heard Itachi gasp. He watched Itachi with his pupil less eyes.

Itachi sat up and started to move Kisame’s arms off of him.

Alpha watched Danzo hang in the air off her claws. His skull rested in her hand. His remaining eye focused on the fire.

A hand touched her other shoulder and she turned to the curly haired Uchiha boy, “You were in his eye socket.” She commented as she recognized the energy.

The boy took the color of the green fire but she could make out the shape of his shoulders and his head. He raised his arm to match the green armor’s movements.

He looked at Alpha and gave her a smile that almost reminded her of Itachi. He blinked slowly. “And you’re doing this for Itachi, I assume, since he’s too gentle for something like this.” He ended his sentence with a smile and turned to Danzo again. The smile faded.

Danzo’s eye opened wide.

Alpha felt his throat move as he wanted to vocalize words or a scream. Something crossed her mind. She breathed in, “I have an idea.” She turned to close her eyes. “Mirrikh, connect me to Itachi.”

“He has grabbed my arm so that’s not a problem here.” Mirrikh commented back to Alpha. He spoke out loud so the two of them could hear him, “Sit still.” He spoke quietly and waited for Itachi to sit before continuing. “Put your hands on mine and stay calm. If you get too excited the connection can break and you’ll never get this chance again.” Mirrikh held his hands palms up as he spoke. 

They both seemed to ignore Kisame’s questions. What were they doing with Itachi? He wanted to know.

Itachi did as he was instructed and hesitated to put his hands on Mirrikh’s. He took a deep breath to attempt to calm his heart and lowered his hands.

He was engulfed in a bright light and heard Alpha speaking to someone in a bright but hazy yellow space. Only Alpha, in a semi transparent green gown, and the person she spoke to were in this space.

Alpha’s voice reached him before her words did. It was gentle and loving. “We can’t give you a whole lot of time to talk so make the best of this okay?” Alpha told the person before turning around to Itachi. She held her arm out for him.

He squinted at the glow that came off her. He walked forward and grabbed her hand. He followed as she pulled him over to… Shisui.

She let his hand go but he hadn’t noticed. She nudged him forward. 

Shisui, still dressed in his anbu uniform, smiled as he saw Itachi, “You’re all grown up now,” He commented and held his hand out. They were almost the same height now. How much time really passed? 

Alpha turned away from them and put her fists together.

Itachi stepped forward and reached out for Shisui’s hand. The solidity of Shisui’s hand… caused tears to roll down his cheeks… He… He was able to grab it this time.

Shisui’s tightened his hand around Itachi’s and pulled him into a hug. He held on tightly as Itachi started to cry. He wrapped his arms around Itachi’s back as Itachi’s did the same. He kissed the side of Itachi’s head as he buried it in Shisui’s chest as he attempted to kiss the tears away. “I’m so sorry for leaving you to fight this war alone.”

Itachi turned his head to breathe, “I’m sorry I didn’t know how to help you.” He sobbed. His fingers wanted to grab on and never let go.

“There was too much going on to help me more than you did.” Shisui spoke softly into the side of Itachi’s head. “You did save Sasuke and I thank you for that.”

“After I found out about the clan… Danzo he… I couldn’t kill my little brother,” Itachi sobbed heavily and took a deep breath. “But I couldn’t stay to raise him either. I had to leave the village.”

“Your parents are glad you let him live,” Shisui spoke quietly and waited for Itachi to look up at him. “And they’re about as angry as she is that any of that even happened.” He looked to Alpha. “You should keep her around if you can,” Shisui kissed Itachi’s cheek and held his chin in his hand.

Itachi looked to face him and grabbed his shirt to pull him in for a kiss.

Shisui moved his arms lower on Itachi’s back and pulled him up into a better kiss.

Their moment was tender and quiet. It healed old wounds and showed Itachi that it was okay to keep on living.

Shisui pulled on Itachi’s hair and moved his hand down the length of it. “You’ve grown your hair out more.” He said between kisses as Itachi took a few breaths.

Itachi nodded and pulled it in front of him. “I don’t seem to want to cut it.”

Shisui put his hands on Itachi’s chin, “Cut it when it gets too long but I do still like it long.” As he spoke, Itachi put his hands on Shusui’s and moved to kiss one of his palms. As Shisui leaned to kiss Itachi’s forehead again he looked over at Alpha as she lifted her head.

She turned around in silence. Shisui looked at Itachi and smiled, “I’m glad we got to see each other again.”

Alpha walked over to them and put her arm around Itachi. “Well, the next time you’ll see each other is when he dies at some point.” Her comment made Shisui laugh.

“Well obviously.” Shisui smiled at Itachi and went in for one last kiss. He pulled away and knew Itachi didn’t want to. “Don’t forget to live, Itachi.” He kissed his forehead and Alpha put her arm around him too.

“I’m sorry this couldn’t be longer but humans only have so much blood to bleed out.” Alpha told both of them and looked at Itachi, “I’ll see you when I get back to the hideout.” She held him until he started to fade away.

He looked at Shisui and held his face close to his own as he faded.

Shisui smiled and put his hands on Itachi’s, “I love you too, ‘tachi.” He held Itachi’s hands until they weren’t there anymore.

Mirrikh watched Itachi the entire time to make sure he was still breathing.

Itachi opened his eyes and sat back on the floor. He felt arms under his knees and on his back as he was picked up by Kisame. He settled into Kisame’s lap again while he sat back down and appreciated how Kisame didn’t ask questions. He leaned into Kisame and tried to enjoy how safe he felt.

Mirrikh watched Itachi for a moment before he closed his eyes again.

Alpha opened hers and breathed in. The green armor still covered her arm and half her body. Her eyes were white this time.

Shisui looked at her but she spoke.

“The gates are still open.” she murmured then smiled at Danzo as she spoke, “Does anyone else want to cross over for a few moments?” She asked as she felt the rush of presences of several Uchiha energies as they appeared near her, excited for the invitation.

Danzo watched but couldn’t really see them. He could feel himself start to lose consciousness but he fought it.

Mirrikh kept his eyes shut but as each Uchiha moved planes, he looked into their memories and concluded why everyone was so angry.

“Alpha,” Mirrikh spoke as more tear streaks engraved into his face. He opened his eyes. They were gold with blue irises. Energy rippled from him then disappeared. “Don’t forget…” His words were angrier than before. Horns grew through his hair and black flames covered his fists as he held them together. He stared blankly at the ground.

His words reached her as the Uchiha energies came into view. “There is no jurisdiction here to stop you.”

A smile crossed her fangs as memories flashed through her mind.

“You asked me why I’m doing this.” Alpha started. One eye gold, one eye black and both had orange irises. “Because every possible step must be taken to avoid mayhem,” she paused as lightning hit the wall near them.

These words were from the only memory Alpha had taken from Itachi.

Danzo recognized those words. Those were his orders.

“And the only one who can handle this mission is me.” She ended her sentence with a smile and exposed her fangs as her power grew even more. 

The next bolt of lightning carved through the wall behind her and showed the dark flames that surrounded her.

She felt a hand on her other shoulder. She is jolted by the presences of those who previously owned those eyes. Their voices joined hers, “A double agent for the Uchiha and the shinobi world. And I accept my mission” lighting flashed as she spoke. It threatened to hit the ground below.

Those words were what he had told Itachi. Danzo’s remaining eye started to bleed. He could taste his own blood in his mouth.

She used the fire behind her to lift him off her hand and blast him up into the air. The inferno kept him in the air. Black fire mixed with yellow and orange.

“Your life is forfeit…” Their voices grew louder than hers as she spoke. “…To ensure the future of the shinobi world.” 

The fire returned to all black and engulfed him completely.

Alpha could tell the gates were closing and their spirits started to fade. The yellow and orange fire turned into dark fire.

Alpha reached out with one hand. His body stopped midair.

He can’t move. He can’t breathe. He can’t react to the burning sensation in his fingertips. The sensation crawled up his arm as she moved her hand up in the air.

Alpha watched the ring of bright purple illuminate his skin as it burned up.

Mirrikh shook his head a little, “She’s never done that before either.” But gave no further context.

Kisame’s eyes focused on Mirrikh as he held Itachi close to him.

“At least you were able to feel the will of fire before you died.” Her low voice reached his ears as his body failed him. She waited until his heart stopped.

She looked at the air above him and flicked a piece of black flame at the soul that tried to escape.

She let the body fall as it burned and watched the soul vanish.

Alpha grabbed one of her swords as she dropped to the ground. The blade absorbed her powers and black inched across it as she held the handle, blade pointed down. She landed heavily and stood slowly. She shoved her black sword through his chest as she landed.

The light given off by the plasma gave away the positions of many who wanted to attack her. 

Lightning hit the ground near her. It caused a few to jump back.

She remained still and waited for the body to burn up completely before she moved her sword. She put her sword back in its sheath as the black armor retracted. Her skin faded back to normal and she looked how she did when she had arrived in Konoha earlier that day. 

Her eyes glowed. She knew by how well she was able to see in the dark.

_I can’t remember the last time you were that violent with a singular death._

She cocked her head and breathed out heavily. A blast of wind disrupted the ashes and scattered them. As her power faded her eyes adjusted to the moonlight and counted how many shinobi were around her.

Too many to count.

She calmly turned around and started walking.

“Hold it!” Someone yelled from a seemingly safe distance.

She pushed off the ground, hard, and disappeared. She put her other foot down and landed on the ground to walk calmly.

She had to leave.

Without killing anyone else.

But would they let her leave?

She looked up to see a roadblock of shinobi.

A tall long haired blonde man stood out front. She stopped a good distance away from them. Her hands were in her pockets and her arms hung slack. She leaned on one hip.

The blond man spoke, “Who are you?”

“Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I from?” She was already bored with all the questions he wanted to ask. “My name is Alpha. I don’t have a home. I killed one to save thousands.” Her gaze was cold and unwavering as she spoke to him. “There was a great deal of unrest coming from this village so I came to investigate.”

She looked around her and hoped her words reached them all.

“It was the usual case of an old corrupted politician obsessed with power, abusing it whenever he wanted to.” Her tone was relentlessly harsh and unsympathetic. She held up her arm to those who watched her every move. “His dying regrets were that of never becoming Hokage, a position he would have killed to get. He was planning to overthrow Lady Tsunade the moment he had the chance but this would have triggered an unnecessary war with the other lands as his desire for power grew beyond your borders.” She let her voice travel and echo and stood up straight, as if to challenge who ever questioned her.

“Why should we believe you?” A different man spoke. He was bald and had scars on his face.

“You don’t have to. Danzo is now dead. His body is ash.” She lowered her arm. “It is what it is.”

The blonde man faced her and she watched him get closer. She didn’t move. She watched him get closer and closer. She couldn’t tell if he was angry. She watched him put his hand on her head.

“Good luck in there.” She spoke angrily as her eyes met his. “Even I don’t like it.” She closed her eyes when he did.

She made sure he saw her war memories.

She made sure he heard the screaming, smelled the blood, felt the explosions that caused his footing to question itself.

The feeling of death as her comrades had fallen. 

This was real interplanetary war. 

He saw her domination of the battle field, standing tall with her swords in her hands on top of a pile of bodies, skin dark but not nearly as dark as what he’d just witnessed.

Space ships exploding in the sky and threatening to land on her.

The ground ruptured beneath her feet, the sounds of screeching outside the field of vision of the memory from a creature recently freed from its prison.

Her black arm pointed at a building that became blurry.

The scene changed. She looked down.

He was forced to see a white haired boy maybe in his early twenties lying on the ground with a gaping hole in his side. There was blood under his body.

She fell down to her knees beside him and held him in her arms.

He saw her tears hit the ground.

The sounds of war faded as the boy lifted his arm to her face.

“Don’t cry mom,” he winced in pain.

The sight got blurrier then cleared up as she blinked.

She held his hand to her face and kissed it.

“He says that my death is necessary.”

She closed her eyes and screamed his name as he died.

The name blended in with the sound of the memory but the pain pierced his heart. He thought of his daughter, Ino.

There were only tears.

She could only cry.

She could not help him.

She felt her own son die.

Her screams of despair faded.

The scene changed to Danzo’s thoughts of power and regret. His emotions and thoughts right before his death were angry and vengeful.

The blond man pulled his hand away quickly. He looked at her with fearful eyes.

She took a step back, “Told you.” She jumped up into the air and vanished like she had before. She landed on a rooftop a few buildings down.

Alpha was surrounded by Anbu. Each wore a different mask that vaguely looked like an animal. She heard that they were told not to pursue her. 

“Why?” One, a girl, shouted. She listened to the reply and her team mate put his arm on her and they took off.

She started running to the gate again and jumped from rooftop to rooftop. She kicked off into back flips from a few of them when her momentum was right.

Kakashi bolted up in his bed. He held his head and did not feel Alpha next to him. He looked forward out the window.

He had promised not to let her leave. He saw the water on his nightstand and didn’t know what to think.

Of course she was dangerous. But weren’t the Anbu supposed to be outside anyway?

He pulled the covers off and winced at the pain on his neck. Did she bite him? He looked for blood on his hand.

Kakashi turned toward the moonlight as he noticed the thin dark lines running across his skin. They arched over his hips to his back. He stood up and walked to the bathroom.

He turned on the light and turned around and gasped at the lightning shaped marks across his lower back and over his butt cheeks. He faced the mirror and traced along a few of the marks with a finger. His eyes landed on a faded handprint on his hip and rested his there.

Does she know she left that? or any of this? Will this even heal? Are these going to be more scars that never heal?

Kakashi turned off the light and want back to his bedroom to get a clean pair of briefs. He heard a knock on the glass.

He turned to see Anbu at his bedroom window. He sighed and gestured to his back porch. they disappeared. He quickly pulled on his pants and tank top.

A moment later he was unlocking his back door.

“What?” he asked as it slid open.

“Alpha attacked Danzo.” One reported before the door was completely open.

Kakashi held onto the door handle, “What?”

“Alpha attacked and killed Danzo.” The other reported.

“You said she wouldn’t leave.” The first repeated his words to him.

Kakashi stepped to the side to get his shoes on. He sighed again. “She knocked me out. What was I supposed to do? Not get knocked out?” He hoped they heard the irritation in his voice. “I didn’t ask for that to happen.”

The two were silent but remained perched on the railing. “Anbu were told to back off of her escape.”

Kakashi paused as he stood back up. “Why?”

“We can only assume things because we don’t know the truth.” The other answered. “What we do know is that she can’t be allowed to leave.”

“By breaking direct orders from Lady Tsunade,” Kakashi finally knew why they were really here. “You want me to go after her?” he turned around “Then what?”

“Keep her here until we can figure that out.” the other Anbu said and looked to the side. “If she hadn’t broken away from Inoichi so easily, we would be able to make a more stable plan.”

Kakashi let out a faint huff. “What makes you think I can hold her here anyway?”

“If our assumptions are correct, and you two like each other at all, she at least won’t kill you.”

Kakashi turned and glared at them, “and if she does? what then? I am now bait in a trap that won’t work and might as well get me killed. If.. If she killed Danzo so easily, she can definitely kill me. I’m no match for her.”

As he argued he remembered what she had said about living. She wanted him to live. And if she remembered that she told him that, she wouldn’t kill him.

“But it might work,” Kakashi looked at the space between them. “Where is she now?”

“Racing across the rooftops in the shopping district.” One of them reported.

He nodded, “Give me another minute and I’ll be out there.”

They nodded and vanished.

He took a deep breath and put his headband on. He covered his sharingan eye and knew she would sense him approaching her.

Kakashi left his apartment, locked the door and jumped up to the rooftop. He raced off in the direction they had told him and hoped this would somehow not end badly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter showed a glimpse into Alpha's past. I tried to hint at it throughout the last several chapters and the coming chapters will answer questions but also create new ones. Lots of Alpha stuff coming up for the purpose of character building her because she isn't all talk. And as a writer i feel like i need to follow through a bit by flexing her powers pretty hard now since they wont flex that hard again until my attempt at rewriting the entire war arc.


	21. Shattered Reckoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alpha escapes Konoha and uses Kakashi to do it. But at what cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alpha's backstory is well established and was not made up for this fic. Of course that also means there's a lot I'm leaving out for the purpose of this fic. 
> 
> It's about to get really interesting.

As Alpha landed on a roof she sensed Kakashi. She stood still and looked in the direction he came from. He was on his way to her. His emotions seemed to be in check this time.

“He’s finally awake,” she smiled as she whispered under her breath.

She jumped smoothly from one roof to another and let him catch up.

He ran beside her and glanced at her. She didn’t look the same as when she was in his apartment. Her glowing orange eyes were the first thing he noticed as she looked at him.

Alpha looked more… less human than before. He decided to keep a distance from her but would have to keep her pace.

She pushed into the rooftop a bit more to launch into the air and rotated so she faced him upside down. Her orange glowing eyes shocked him but didn’t make him want to fight.

Her legs out straight for balance, “You’ll have to keep up if you want to talk.” She didn’t smile as she spoke and rotated her body again. She pushed off the air to fly across the rooftops faster.

When her feet hit the rooftops this time, she glided across the tiles as if she was skating on them. Her next jump included a power launch into the sky to back flip over an electrical pole.

Alpha perched on top of it and squatted down to watch Kakashi pursue her. She jumped backwards when he got close enough.

She landed effortlessly on the next roof and picked up her pace.

This time she left a trail of disrupted tiles as she ran. Every jump left a hole in the roof. Kakashi watched her move faster and faster and looked at the damage she left behind.

She slowed suddenly and held her arm out to catch Kakashi. She moved him out of the path of the kunai and let them hit her other arm as she moved it to protect him. His feet never hit the ground from his last jump.

Alpha landed on a rooftop nearby. “They want to hit me so bad, they’ll let you get in the way.” She stood up and glanced around until she found them in the shadows. Her arm still up in front of Kakashi.

He glanced at her arm. It was bleeding from the four kunai in her skin. He looked where she looked.

She lifted her injured arm across her and almost into Kakashi’s face. She swiped her arm through the air and watched the kunai return to their owners.

It scattered them out of the shadows.

Alpha looked at faces she couldn’t bother to remember but heard Kakashi breathe in sharply. A faint smile started at the corner of her mouth.

A weak spot.

She turned her hand that guarded him and grabbed his wrist. She lifted her arm and spun him in front of her. Alpha held his torso with her other arm and rested her claws onto his jaw. She held him close to her and looked at the jounin in front of her.

One took a step forward and watched her dig her claws into his neck. His defining feature was his beard and the metal blades he held in his hands.

The kunai Kakashi drew had made its way between her claws and his neck. He grabbed her hand with his other but couldn’t move it at all.

She slowly moved her hand from his waist to his hand and took the kunai from him without resistance. “That didn’t work the first time, did it?” She whispered as she looped her claw through the hole in the handle. The tips of her claws make contact with his neck and rest around his esophagus.

She threw his kunai at the feet of one of the jounin and looks at him as he held his ground.

Alpha smiled and lifted her elbow but kept her grip on his neck. A black blade moved out of her dark skin and stretched over the air between her and Kakashi.

She pushed her face near his ear and used the same tone as she had in his hallway. “Don’t move. It’s on your jugular.” She breathed in deeply and spoke on her exhale, “And calm down before it triggers my bloodlust and you actually die tonight.”

His pulse quickened and she felt it. She could hear his heart racing, his veins struggling to get panicked blood moved to his heart and brain. He may look calm, but in reality, he was not.

Alpha looked at the others. No one moved.

Anbu landed between Alpha and the jounin. They didn’t move either.

Alpha assumed they had moved in because she threatened Kakashi. She smiled more. They wouldn’t touch her as long as she had Kakashi, it looked like.

More of her power reactivated with the threat of battle and she breathed in while it did. She exhaled slowly as her claws grew and she moved her arm as the blade widened, thickened and became more of a lethal weapon than an attachment of her power. She smelled the mark on Kakashi now.

His saving grace.

She breathed out harshly. “It’s a shame you wish to die so much.” She looked at the Anbu as they took a few steps forward. Alpha straightened up and lifted Kakashi off the ground. She took a step back and they stopped as she had hoped they would.

“Alpha took Kakashi hostage.” She heard one Anbu report under their breath.

Alpha looked at them and watched them make eye contact with her. A full smile crossed her face. “What a good idea.” The words slipped out of her mouth maliciously, fangs parted as she spoke in a deeper tone. The blade retracted quickly, she removed her claws from his throat, turned him around and picked him up.

“She took Kakashi hostage.” The Anbu spoke louder and jumped in her direction.

Alpha jumped back, turned and ran on the air like she had before.

“They’ll either swarm or back off.” Alpha spoke quickly as she shifted him on her shoulder. His fear almost intoxicated her. She breathed out heavily and was glad no one can see her smile like this.

“They’ll probably send a pursuit team,” Kakashi commented then immediately regretted speaking at all.

Her vision blurred for a moment. She heard gun fire and explosions. When she closed her eyes and slowed to almost a stop, she saw what she then remembered what would be considered her last war.

Her grip on Kakashi’s thigh tightened then released. “Sorry.” Did the lightning burns still hurt him? She didn't have time to ask.

She changed directions and while she was in the air she moved him so she could carry him in her arms. As she landed, his arms reached around her neck.

He watched where she landed, “Did you really kill Danzo? Is that why you were here?” Her hand reached up his back to hold his neck while she flipped.

She skidded across a roof and looked at the Anbu as she held him. She turned to face them as a ripple of purple spread from the edge of her right eye. A transparent purple barrier launched in front of them. The kunai deflected off it and she could read the data from the analysis of the scene. Small circles tracked faces and moved with them. Her eyes darted around the information but none of it was relevant to the current moment.

The barrier disappeared and she jumped away.

“Yes,” She answered in the air. War echoed in her head. She closed her eyes as she heard a long forgotten voice. She couldn’t make out the words. But she hated them. She remembered that she hated them. She didn’t remember why.

“Why?” He grunted as she landed. He looked at her and waited for an answer.

He didn’t get one.

“I’ll leave you at the gate.” She spoke quickly. She launched into the air and held his head to keep him from getting whiplash as her speed caught up to her too. “And it’s best not to follow me.” She spoke gently as she landed on the ground. She bolted forward and held his body tight.

He forced air into his lungs. “But..”

“Don’t,” she interrupted him. She saw a group of people in the distance from the gate. Two in green, two in white and one of the people dressed in green was much taller. “It’s better to keep your village’s loyalty than follow me.” She lifted him up in front of her.

Alpha grabbed his shirt and let him drift in the air to her.

Kakashi saw her face up close again. She focused on what was ahead while he saw scars running down her face like tears. It exposed the hole over the back of her jaw and spread down her jaw line to her neck.

“Who is that? Do you know him?” Alpha asked and looked down at him. He looked away.

“Yeah…” Kakashi answered as he looked. “He’s…”

“Call out his name after I let go.” Alpha pushed off the ground. She let him go and flew up into the air.

“Gai!” Kakashi shouted as he flew to him much faster than he anticipated.

Gai looked ahead and opened his arms as he heard Kakashi. The team stopped.

“Ah Kakashi! Just who I'd expect to see upon my return!" He boasted and smiled. His arms outstretched to catch his rival. The impact pushed Gai back a few feet.

Alpha flew over them and looked down at the boy who looked up at her. His white clothes stuck out against the brown dirt road. She smiled at him and skidded across the dirt, hand on the ground to help her slow down. She stood up and faced them.

Kakashi stood next to Gai and watched her.

She turned around and sped off across the ground. Indents left where her footprints would have been.

“She’s so fast!" Lee commented. "I need to be faster!"

“What’s going on Kakashi?” Gai asked. “What happened?”

"Did any of you look at her face?" Kakashi’s breath returned quickly. “Do you recognize her?”

"Yeah she’s really pretty," Tenten answered and watched Alpha run.

"And fast" Lee answered.

"And doesn’t use chakra" Neji reported. "But she’s beyond jounin level."

The three students watched her race across the terrain toward the mountains in the distance.

"No I don’t. Why do you ask, Kakashi?" Gai asked. "Did you scare her off with your inability to make a relationship work?" He laughed and patted Kakashi on the back. 

Kakashi looked at Gai, face starting to flush, "no." 

"She doesn’t use chakra?" Tenten asked. "How can that be?"

"There was nothing to read. But even people who don’t infuse chakra have chakra veins I can see," Neji knew he sounded crazy. "It sounds crazy but," he focused out the way she disappeared. "There was nothing."

"Then don't worry about it Kakashi.” Gai commented but looked at Kakashi’s face and knew something else was going on from what he had just said to update him on the situation. “If she said she isn’t a threat than she isn’t.”

"I don’t think I could win against her," Kakashi sounded worried. “What if she’s really a threat to the village?” He lowered his voice. “She got in so easily.” 

"Do you think you can’t win against her because you like her?" Gai blurted out. “Not because she’s somehow stronger than you?”

He tried to hide his irritation, "She is strong. When we met, she walked into my kunai but I froze because she didn’t. It was some sort of psychological thing. It was weird. I couldn't move." 

"That sounds like it might be Anbu training," Neji said.

"She made herself known. That's not Anbu protocol." Kakashi replied.

"We should report to Lady Tsunade," Tenten interrupted. “It won’t be too late to talk to her.”

Lee, Neji and Tenten walked into the village and continued their conversation.

They left Kakashi and Gai at the entrance. 

Gai faced Kakashi, “You let an unknown woman stay in the village?”

“Her story was convincing and even Lady Tsunade seemed okay with her. Master Jiraiya…” Kakashi paused. “If she had been dangerous, even Master Jiraiya would have known.”

“Then she has had intense training to pass as a traveler.” Gai commented.

“She killed Danzo.” Kakashi said quickly.

“What?” Gai asked.

Kakashi nodded, “Even the Anbu don’t know what really happened.” He took a quick breath. “She broke away from Inoichi’s interrogation jutsu.”

Gai didn’t have a response right away and watched Kakashi step forward.

Kakashi made the summoning hand signs and put his hand to the ground. A black circle formed on the ground and thin lines branched out from it. Two puffs of air appeared.

He was relieved to see Biscuit and Pakkun.

Pakkun immediately smelled the ground. He grunted for Biscuit to do the same.

Both ninja hounds looked up at Kakashi, “That’s an unfamiliar scent,” Pakkun commented.

“I need you to track her down.” Kakashi told them.

“Her scent is mixed with yours.” Biscuit reported. “It’ll be easy to track.”

Pakkun whispered to Biscuit what it meant then bent his head down to the ground to sniff more. He looked up at Kakashi, “You just can’t keep them around, can you?” His question followed by a snarky laugh.

“Why did she leave?” Biscuit asked, distracted from the task. He looked up at Kakashi too.

“Just track her.” Kakashi hated to get annoyed with them but he felt himself blushing.

“Sure boss,” Pakkun nodded and sniffed the ground before running off. Biscuit followed.

Kakashi took a step forward to run after them.

“Kakashi,” Inoichi spoke as he landed on the ground nearby. Two others from Intel were with him. “You were with her the longest and we need to know if she had been planning this from the start or not.”

Kakashi sighed.

“Mirrikh,” Alpha smiled as she ran. She felt tears fell down her face as she remembered a time long ago on a planet far away.

Mirrikh straightened up, “Yes Alpha.” He felt her happy tears through their connection and opened his eyes. His jaw slacked open a little bit. 

There was only one thing that would make her feel like that. He took a deep breath and waited for her answer.

Alpha sniffled and wiped her tears from her face, “Did you know I have kids?” Mirrikh didn’t answer right away. Maybe he didn’t.

Alpha has three kids. Two sons and a daughter and all three… so smart and… and her dark haired son looked just like their father…

Alpha slowed to a stop.

She stared straight ahead as she remembered. “I… remember that he had died before I ever left home.” Her eyes drifted to the dirt. She stared blankly at the ground and thought about the lie she had just spoken out loud. The lie that got her through the grief.

He had actually been killed. Because he couldn’t be controlled. Something she had found out years later. Something that started it all. 

“Mirrikh.” Alpha commented into the night air. Her tone was unmistakably angry.

Mirrikh stood up and faced her direction in the room, eyes closed again to monitor her power levels that were spiking far too much. “Y… Yes Alpha?”

“Why were my memories of my children blocked?” Alpha asked as she remembered them over the years. After she stepped down from the job that had been handed to her, she trained them personally. They’d all become so powerful. Like her, they had powers of their own. But unlike her, they had powers they could combine together into more aggressively powerful attacks.

Mirrikh’s chest pounded as he saw her memories too. He threw his fists down and cut off the connection.

“Oh... shit.” He started to panic. “This isn’t good.” He turned to Itachi. “How could her memories be unlocked?”

Itachi looked worried, “Intel probably unlocked…something...” He trailed off as Mirrikh looked around.

Mirrikh put his fists together and pounded them together twice, “Don’t forget, you’re running away from the Leaf.” He just hoped she could hear him.

Alpha smiled as she cried and remembered how easily they had passed the exit exams of the Academy. They outclassed their classmates just like she had. They wore the armor she designed for them. She had been so proud of them, just like she was at that moment. That moment when she could remember how proud she was to be their mother.

She had heard Mirrikh and started to walk. She caught a scent on the air and focused on the ground enough to search for energy nearby.

“Mirrikh I’m being tracked.” Alpha spoke. “It would be best for me to not return to the hideout until I know I’m not being followed.” She started to run.

“How many?” Mirrikh’s response was quick and stressed.

“Just two,” Alpha replied and ran in the opposite direction of the hideout. She would lead them away.

“What’s wrong?” Kisame asked after a few moments of silence. Itachi straightened up as he sat in Kisame’s lap.

Mirrikh looked at him. “There’s a reason her memories of her kids were blocked.” Mirrikh’s solemn voice worried Kisame. Mirrikh leaned against the wall, “It was to keep her from... lashing out…” His eyes focused on the floor.

“Lashing out about what?” Itachi asked and held Kisame's forearm with both hands.

Mirrikh shook his head. “And I let them make the decision to block her memories of her kids.” He tried to take in deep breaths to stay calm but Alpha’s emotions overwhelmed him. “Ceteareth… she… she blocked them all.” He looked at them, “She wasn’t supposed to. But she did.” Mirrikh looked around for Alpha’s energy again. The power surge was very easy to find. 

“Who’s Cet… Cetearth?” Itachi couldn’t repeat the name.

“Ceteareth was Alpha’s mentor and she is also the Goddess of Life. She favored Alpha over everyone else... I should have known she planned to block all memories of her children.” Mirrikh raised his hands in Alpha’s direction. “To protect her… from herself,” his voice trailed off. His head was pushed to the side as Alpha's wave of power slammed into him unexpectedly. 

Kakashi turned and faced Inoichi. “Fine,” He commented. “But she didn’t tell me anything.” He walked over to the taller blond man and stood still.

He watched as Inoichi raised his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.

Kakashi remembered everything, which also meant that Inoichi could see it too.

His and Alpha’s first encounter on the tree branch, how she turned around to face him and he had forced himself to not stare. She walked into his kunai and smiled about it as she pinned him to the tree. He walked to Tsunade to report her then saw her with Tsunade and decided against it. She was there for an autograph. And then took Kakashi home. She talked to Jiraiya while he pretended to be drunk.

Inoichi saw and felt how Kakashi had started to fall for her once they were in his apartment. The flash of electricity scared Inoichi but Kakashi wasn’t afraid. The Anbu even showed up with a warning but she... That part was fuzzy.

More lightning followed in a very raunchy scene Inoichi had never seen before. The mind-numbing lightning-induced orgasm that left him breathless caused Inoichi to blush. He heard their chat and then Kakashi fell asleep.

Inoichi opened his eyes. “Her story was believable and she gave nothing away.” He lifted an eyebrow and spoke quietly. “Did she really do that with the lightning?”

Kakashi nodded. “Didn’t you just watch it happen?” He looked directly at Inoichi.

“Her level of control of it….” he commented.

“Kakashi,” Gai interrupted. “We should talk about this somewhere else so you can get me caught up.”

Inoichi backed up and nodded at Gai. “We will continue the investigation at Intel. We have a lot of corpses to get through.” He and his Intel squad jumped away.

Gai shook his head as Kakashi started to walk into the village. “Kakashi, didn’t you want to follow her?”

Kakashi stopped and faced out, away from the village.

“I’ll delay them as much as I can.” Gai told him and gave him a thumbs up.

“Thanks Gai.” He trotted backwards then turned to chase after Alpha.

“Alpha’s memories were blocked by her mentor Ceteareth.” Mirrikh’s voice almost echoed in the bedroom as he answered their question.

Alpha looked out at the ocean and watched it suddenly get choppy. The air rushed around her as a storm curled in on itself far offshore.

She was alone.

She could hear Mirrikh as the memory unfolded.

“It was meant to keep her from lashing out, with all of her strength and power…” Mirrikh knew she could hear him. “…over her son’s death.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the next few chapters are written as dramatically as I've been planning since April. I may delay uploading until it reads as dramatic as i want it to be.


	22. It All Ends Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't supposed to be this long between chapters but here's the update. 
> 
> Here's the suicide trigger warning although it isn't suicide but can be read in that way so, I'm putting a warning.

Alpha stood on the cliff side and watched the storm gather. The memory invaded her consciousness as she relived it.

“My son…” As she murmured, the ground cracked in a semi circle out to the cliff. She blinked slowly as Mirrikh’s connection faded. “Krohne is dead?” Her whisper shot out across the ocean and sliced through the air that slammed back together. The thunder clap rumbled the cliff.

Her eyes drifted lower at the water. She stared blankly as she remembered holding his body. She lifted her arms.

His hand had fallen from her face.

Cracks split down her face where tears once fell.

She lowered her arms and stared ahead. Her head slowly rotated to the side as her power burned inside her.

Mirrikh slammed his fists together again but he couldn’t connect to her. He blinked and then looked at Kisame and Itachi with solid black eyes. His black horns grew from under his hair and curled forward.

“I watched her fall apart right in front of me.” Mirrikh’s grim voice reflected how he felt when it had happened. “It was like watching an apocalypse, the way her immeasurable powers lashed out uncontrolled and destroyed everything... Ally or not…” 

Itachi looked up at Kisame then at Mirrikh, “How can we help?”

Mirrikh turned to them. “You can’t. No one can.” He took a deep breath. “What makes this worse than last time is her ability to wipe out life on a planet in minutes and her abilities to manipulate raw elements like its nothing.” He looked to the left. “I may be her life partner but I don’t think I can stop her.”

He fell silent and listened to Alpha’s scream. Lightning flashed overhead. Thunder followed. He turned in her direction again. “Alpha if you can hear me,” He spoke out loud, concern cracked his voice. “You’re going to have to open a portal so I can get to you.”

“What are you going to do?” Kisame asked.

“I can’t stand by and watch this time. I won’t be able to do anything except talk to her but maybe it’ll be enough to keep this world from ending.” Mirrikh didn’t feel an energy wave from her. He watched his power crawl over his skin involuntarily. They were Alpha’s forearm shields.

Kakashi stopped at the edge of the trees.

Alpha raised her arm to the sky as he saw her. She flicked her hand foreword.

Kakashi was pulled from the tree line, across the cracked ground and toward a very different person from when he saw her before.

Her hand closed. She held him in the air behind her. 

Waves of black energy surged around her body erratically like lightning. Black tendrils floated above her skin but moved with her. The spikes around her shoulders moved with her breath and seemed to flex with her movements like muscles.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice rang through the air wordless ahead of the words as he heard them. She let the small presences run away but the ground cracked as she looked back and left a trail to the tree line where she watched their life forces disappear deeper into the trees.

He grabbed at the air that held him up but couldn’t free himself.

She laughed once at his pitiful efforts. Her voice rang in his ears first then her words. “Why did you follow me?” the ground cracked under him.

Alpha breathed in deeply as her skin turned black with hints of blue, green and yellow. She kept Water, Life and Lightning at her immediate disposal along with Mirrikh’s powers of Death.

She looked at Kakashi and saw a faint green light pulse from his neck. Alpha bared her fangs and huffed out in anger. Why did she mark him? She couldn’t remember. But now she can’t kill him for defying her. 

“Alpha!” Mirrikh’s voice rang out over the rushing storm air.

She faced where his voice came from.

“You’re going to have to open a portal…”

She couldn’t hear the rest. Her power swirled around her. She watched it cut through Kakashi’s clothes. “I do not need help, Mirrikh.” She spat her words into the air. 

The wind generated a cyclone around them and took the air from Kakashi. He struggled against her grip again and thrashed his legs around. He tried to free himself.

Unable to go against her own powers, she tossed him back into the air and raised her other arm. A tree grew out of the ground quickly and wrapped branches around his biceps, up his arms and held down his wrists. They traveled down his legs, across his thighs and held his ankles down.

He couldn’t move but he could breathe even though the branches wrapped around his neck and held his head back to the tree.

Alpha glared at him. The black tendrils reached across the broken ground towards the tree. They branched out and snaked across the ground. Alpha’s unblinking eyes focused on Kakashi. She raised one arm up to him and flexed her hand open. The tendrils jumped from the ground and she enjoyed feeling the fear Kakashi felt. 

He instinctively tried to jump back but couldn’t move.

The black tendrils shattered against small green barriers that covered the areas of his body where the tendrils were aimed to skewer him.

Alpha laughed once through her fangs and turned around. Her back to him, she walked to the edge of the cliff. The storm picked up pace and blasted around her.

She held her hand up to the side as sadness swept around her again. Alpha felt the control of her power slip. She braced her feet to the ground as she saw her younger self on her left and the nightmare she feared to be on the right. Alpha knew her past life was happy and prideful.

Her attention turned to the right. Alpha could see the darkness in her heart. There was no light left. There was no sympathy.

Alpha lifted her hands to look at them and so did the other two. The Alpha to her right… Blood covered her hands and up her forearms. Her claws were unbelievably long. She probably stopped using swords long ago and indulged in personally feeling beings die as she killed them.

Alpha knew that all too well herself.

Alpha’s own hands were clean, so to speak, but there weren’t long, blood soaked, blade-like claws.

The younger Alpha to the left held swords she no longer used.

Three waves of purple energy surged from Alpha without warning.

Alpha to the right raised her hand and put it on Alpha’s shoulder. A cruel smile crossed her lips and she parted her teeth to speak as she moved closer to Alpha’s ear. “Give in to the hate you feel.” She spoke with a certain edge that would have normally scared her. But.

Alpha knew.

All three of these versions of her were true to her existence.

Alpha looked to the right but couldn’t speak.

The solid black Alpha spoke instead. “It’s all around you. This world is soaked in it. You can feel it." They’re going to war anyway. the tips of her claws inched closer to the center of Alpha’s chest as two horns grew, reacting to the power at her fingertips. "They’re going to war anyway.”

Alpha lifted her hands to her chest as the solid black Alpha dug her claws through the skin.

It was still there.

“It was always there.” She spoke into Alpha’s ear again. “You can’t run from who you are.” She laughed quietly. “They were right to try to control you… to fear you.”

“It only made me more powerful.” Alpha murmured as a dark light blasted from her chest. The pain it caused felt like it always did, excruciating. It was enough to knock out the toughest battle torn warriors. Black light blasted out across the ocean and caused an explosion far out on the ocean.

Alpha watched the water blast up into the sky and it joined the storm that brewed.

The black claws retreated from her chest and her own hands rested on the gem like structure that was there.

“Your power…” Black Alpha spoke again and stepped back. “Our power… with our power we can do whatever the fuck we wanted.” Her words were slow but lethal.

Alpha looked at her. She had much bigger horns, her wings were pitch black and her fangs were much longer. She smiled like there wasn’t an ounce of sympathy left in her.

She had been named Apocalypse several wars ago. Deep down, Alpha thought the name fit her a little too perfectly. 

“This is what power looks like Alpha.” She spoke a little louder.

Alpha threw her arm out and opened a portal to Mirrikh. She locked eyes with Apocalypse and watched her reaction. She only smiled more and looked behind Alpha.

Mirrikh stood in silence and felt her power grow. He couldn’t tell if it was from their connection or if her reach was just that far out already.

A crackle in the air got his attention and he stepped back to watch a purple outline create a circle in the air near him in the room.

He reached down and pulled his kimono over his shoulders and tied it in place. There was a draft from the shredded slits in the back for wings long forgotten.

He saw Alpha facing someone else, her arm back to him. As the portal cleared up, he stepped through as soon as he could.

“Oh shit.” Mirrikh spoke as he stepped through. He grabbed Alpha’s forearm and kept eye contact with Apocalypse as she smiled. Alpha returned the grip. “Okay, close the portal.” He faced Apocalypse and moved Alpha’s arm to help her close the portal. He looked back through the purple veil at Itachi and Kisame as it closed. He took a breath and looked around and saw the younger version of Alpha watch this event, she faded as the time stretched out. 

He stood next to Alpha and kept quiet. His hand held her forearm.

“Look at him.” Apocalypse nearly laughed. “He doesn’t know what to do.” She raised her hands to him. “He didn’t know what to do last time either.” Power blasted from her to Mirrikh.

It hit him in the stomach and pushed him back. He braced himself on the ground as she pushed him and was able to grab onto the power. He threw it to the side and glared up at her as he made a plan. It wasn't a good plan but it would work, in theory. 

Apocalypse focused on Alpha again for the moment she had. “You wanted all the power in the universe at your disposal when Krohne died in your arms. I remember how you cut down anyone in your path as you crossed the battle field to slaughter the bitch who killed your son.” She lifted her arms to hold something.

Alpha watched a body form in the dark energy. Her arms moved without her intention and she touched the base of her palms together, palms facing Apocalypse, as bright light blasted from her hands.

“You will let Krohne rest!” Mirrikh shouted in the wind. He nearly squatted back as the power blasted from him but held his arms out exactly like Alpha did. “You will let Alpha be at peace!”

Apocalypse lowered her arms and looked at him. “Peace? We have never known peace.”

Mirrikh lowered his arms but Alpha didn’t.

Black eyes looked at Alpha and were met with Alpha's solid black eyes, “Krohne’s death will never let you live in peace!” the hate in her words pierced through the truth that they held.

The storm froze in place. Water suspended in mid air and the wind stopped.

Alpha straightened up. She faced Mirrikh. The skin around her eyes had started to crack under the pressure of her power that had built up for an attack, “I was never allowed to grieve over his death.” Her anger charged her voice as it crossed the still air. The black color around her eyes burned jagged paths across her skin as it moved outward and into the air in small volts of lightning.

Apocalypse smiled as the ground cracked around them. It dangerously reached towards the cliff side and seemed to want to collapse from underneath them all.

“You let them block my memories.” Alpha spoke and listened to Apocalypse laugh. Black pieces of her body over her shoulders and down her back rose up, flared out, stretched like flower petals, and gathered energy from around her. Trails of flecks of light led from the tips of the energy, down to her shoulders and over her chest to the gem covered in burning black tendrils. Her pupils glowed white.

Mirrikh took a few slow steps towards her. His hand out but lower to the ground.

Alpha growled at that. “Do not treat me like a beast you want to control.” She took a step back as she spoke. The ground shook but Mirrikh maintained his balance. Black tendrils branched out across her chest from the gem. Smoke rose from the tendrils as they burned into her body.

“Where were you when my son died?” Apocalypse spoke for Alpha. She glanced at Alpha and smiled. “You associated yourself with the rest of the gods. The very thing you swore to me that you would never do." She turned to Mirrikh to watch his reaction but he focused on Alpha. "You abandoned me.”

Alpha looked away from Mirrikh as the words were spoken. 

“You wouldn’t have come to find me if Hexane hadn’t sent me here.” Apocalypse spoke her secrets with a wide smile. “I would have been alone for the rest of my existence.” She started to laugh.

Mirrikh looked at Apocalypse as she spoke then looked at Alpha. She had lowered herself to attack him; her arms were poised for it.

“You left me alone to give in to my darkest powers, Mirrikh.” Alpha spoke while Apocalypse's laughter grew. She stopped and looked at Apocalypse as she laughed. 

Mirrikh breathed hard, “You…” He looked around then at her. “I thought you needed time to grieve.” His eyes opened wide as he felt her power surge from her chest a moment before he saw it crackle around her. He quickly clapped his hands together and pulled them apart. He slammed his hands into the ground and pulled them up and over him to create a shield that would also protect Kakashi.

They saw Alpha through the shield but couldn’t see the other two versions of her. On the side of the shield were bars that registered different things through the sensors. All of them were red. Mirrikh knew they would flash black soon.

“This will hold through one or two blasts from Alpha at her current power level.” Mirrikh spoke as he reached back to touch one of the branches. He sucked the life out of the branch and felt it decay underneath his touch. 

Kakashi was able to break out of the branches as they shriveled up. He landed on the ground behind Mirrikh. “And… And after that?” He had watched everything but didn't know what to believe. Kakashi knew the situation was far more dangerous than Mirrikh had acknowledged. 

He sighed, “She shouldn’t be able to kill either of us but everything behind us is as good as annihilated into ash.” Mirrikh breathed in and reached for Kakashi. “Get in front of me.” He moved to let Kakashi stand in front of him. “Hold those.” He pointed up at the handles and reached for them when Kakashi couldn’t. He turned them in toward each other and slid them down the shield until Kakashi could hold them then turned them back to lock them in place.

“Just the forest or..” Kakashi asked as he reached to hold them.

“Anything behind us on the land mass. Her power can cross the continent in seconds.” Mirrikh explained and watched her power flow across her arms to her hands. “That gem is…" He had to explain it. "It's concentrated power from about ten years of her training period that'd been condensed into that gem in her chest. It’s like having reserves of power that are… beyond…”

Kakashi thought about Naruto, “beyond normal capacity?” 

“Yes, it’s what qualified her as one of The Seven Gods of War.” Mirrikh shook his head and watched her move her arms in their direction, her thumbs touching.

Kakashi blinked slowly. Gods of war? As in ancient gods he'd read about at some point? The ancient folklore gods? 

He didnt have time for questions. 

Mirrikh reached for the handles too and watched Alpha’s eyes try to pierce through the shield to him.

A black light flashed twice the moment before Alpha launched her power across the ground between them.

A high pitch screech raced through the air past them. It was followed by a narrow beam of highly destructive power that dug into the ground as it moved. It evaporated the suspended water in the air. It pushed on the shield as it hit, but the shield held in place.

Mirrikh let go of one handle to tap the screen above him. It showed what happened behind them. His shoulders dropped as the beam annihilated the trees, scoured the ground and didn’t stop. 

He let go of the other handle and held his hands out to his sides as much as he could without leaving the shield then pushed them up. He watched the beam move up into the sky.

Alpha yelled in frustration and stopped the beam. She pulled her arms back and closed her hands into fists. The power yanked around her arms as it changed velocity. It still flowed. 

“She wants to kill you for what you’ve done.” Apocalypse spoke for her again.

Mirrikh whispered, “I have about fifteen seconds before she’s ready to attack again.” He let go of the handles and stepped back.

“What?” Kakashi asked and turned a bit. “What are you doing?”

Mirrikh stepped out of the shield and made eye contact with Apocalypse. “I can’t lose her again.”

Apocalypse raised her arms and held a hand out in sync with each of his footsteps as he raced to Alpha. Her power destroyed the ground beneath him. 

Alpha held her hands together and started to charge up for a different and far more deadly version of her Beam of Extinction.

The ground fell from beneath Mirrikh as he ran. He stood on the air and smirked at Apocalypse as she punched both hands forward then pulled them back. The ground under Alpha split away from the cliff.

Mirrikh moved faster than Apocalypse could move her arms. He landed on the moving rock and pushed Alpha’s hands to one side. He moved his arms under hers and hugged her tightly in the same moment that Apocalypse screamed in pain.

Apocalypse fell to one knee. A small crack formed on her forehead to reveal white light. She reached for it and watched Mirrikh kiss Alpha’s forehead.

“Stop it!” Apocalypse screeched and threw an arm at Mirrikh who had turned to watch her.

Mirrikh moved to shield Alpha from the attack.

Apocalypse watched her tendrils shatter before they ever touched Mirrikh. “You will not win this!” One hand covered her forehead, the other threw another attack. 

Alpha relaxed a little under Mirrikh’s touch. She closed her eyes as he kissed her cheek. Her smile cracked the black layer of energy on her skin. It started to collapse.

Black Alpha faded as she screamed, “You still need me Alpha! Do not forget that!”

Alpha didn’t see it, but her younger self gave them a thumbs-up as she faded from view as well.

Alpha gained control of the earth under her and kept it afloat. She wrapped her arms around Mirrikh.

She could feel her power gather. Her smile disappeared. The Beam of Extinction hadn’t been stopped.

Alpha sobbed and kissed Mirrikh’s cheek. “I was never meant to remember Krohne’s death.”

“What do you mean?” Mirrikh asked. He held her face in his hands. “You’re not healing,” His thumbs ran across the tear scars on her face as he held her gently. “Why aren’t you healing?”

“Those memories were blocked so I wouldn’t turn into…” Alpha started and trailed off when Mirrikh kissed her forehead.

“And you won’t” Mirrikh whispered as he rested his head on hers. “Because I’m here this time.” He held her close.

Alpha clenched her jaw together and felt the skin tear across her face. She knew her nanotech wouldn’t hold through this next beam.

“Hey!” Kakashi shouted. “The black light is flashing again!” He ducked behind the shield after he shouted.

He watched Mirrikh's gaze turn from the shield to Alpha. The levels of power Alpha used were setting off the black levels on the shield. 

And another one popped up. It had a central place towards the top. The word scrolled through symbols that might have been letters in a different language. 

The letters stopped on the language Kakashi understood. 

"Total Annihilation" 

Kakashi squeezed the handles. She must've known, somehow, that he didnt actually want to die. He just wanted the pain to stop. 

If he had actually wanted to die, would she have just killed him? Granted his wish like the god of war Mirrikh said she was? 

He could die here. Kakashi doubted the shield would hold through this blast of power. 

The edges of the shield started to turn black and it cracked the screen inwards. 

Mirrikh stepped back and held her shoulders. His eyes widened as he saw flecks of light flash brighter on the flared out parts of her body.

Before he could say anything, Alpha put her hands on his ribcage and threw him back across the air. She threw her hands together and screamed as power lashed out from all tips of her body.

She closed her eyes and screamed through the pain of power overload. Alpha tried to raise her arms, the basic move for control over her powers, but she couldnt lift them heigher than her waist. 

Mirrikh saw rings of power pull themselves from her like a solar flare. She threw her head back and let out a prolonged shriek of pain that brought tears to the eyes of the god of Death. He stood up as her power lashed out in all directions. It almost knocked him over but he stood his ground.

“Those memories were blocked so I could be free from this pain!” She shouted into the whirlwind of power. Strips of dark orange power cut through her neck and glowed as it travelled through her. It revealed itself as it surfaced on her skin to reveal its entangled trail.

Her suit flaked away under the burning power beneath it. More light was exposed and revealed the trails of other colors that had burned their way through.

“Alpha!” Mirrikh shouted and put his arms up to keep watching her even though every blast of energy tried to knock him down. She flexed one palm out towards him after he shouted her name. The next wave stopped him from moving. “You promised!” He fought it, to move his legs or arms, his chest to breathe or even just his eyes as she glowed brighter. 

The glow from Alpha was too much, especially in the darkness of night.

He clamped his jaw shut to keep himself from screaming in pain. He focused on her and managed to take a deep breath as her grip slipped. “You promised to never manipulate my electromagnetic field!”

She didn’t react to his words and focused her power on the sky above her.

The rain started to fall again as the storm continued. It was worse than before. The wind had strengthened and rain felt like needles.

Alpha’s focus on the sky caused her to let go of Mirrikh completely. 

Mirrikh moved over to her too quickly for her to stop him. He wrapped his arms around her again and held on when the earth fell from underneath him. 

_“I don’t want to remember it Mirrikh.”_ Her broken voice reached his head. _“No parent should have to bury their child.”_ The glow spread from her pupils and engulfed her eyes rapidly enough to slam Mirrikh with power. His hands slipped from around her. 

Alpha grabbed him with her power and gently put him down on the broken cliff side. She looked up just as the power expanded out into a ring around her. She held her hands out, suspended over the water. Her body glowed with the power as it collected between her and the ring of light.

The power blasted up into the sky without her control of it. She let out another prolonged scream as the power took too much from her.

Quickly, the power constricted into a point in front of her chest. The wind blew her hair around as she moved in the air. Her eyes, back to normal, landed on Mirrikh as she lifted her arms.

The glow in the sky expanded over the ocean, over the storm. For a moment, it looked like it pushed the storm around. But it surged back through the clouds and concentrated over Alpha.

To Alpha’s outstretched arms.

It created a hurricane of power above her.

Alpha felt the residual electrical pull of the power as it got closer. She looked up at the power of the Beam of Extinction. She closed her eyes and heard Mirrikh scream again.

The power swirled to a central point before it shot down to Alpha’s hands.

The light of the impact nearly blinded Mirrikh. Kakashi had to look away even though he was behind the shield that filtered most of the excess light. 

Alpha felt free.

Power surged around her body and collected as the power grew. The moment it touched the skin on her chest, it jolted through her too quickly for her healing powers to kick in. It tore directly through her torso and reached up for her heart.

She let out a faint laugh and breathed in before she lost consciousness. 

The power faded. It had hit its target and was no longer needed. The energy disbursed into the environment in wispy trails of residual light and the glow died down until the only light left was from the stars.

Mirrikh pushed himself to his feet, ran to the shield and put his hand on it. It retracted back to him as he picked it up off the ground. He raced to the cliff and spotted Alpha falling towards the dark ocean.

He projected power through his feet as he knelt over the edge of the cliff to launch him faster through the air and towards the water. The hole in her chest…

It won’t heal…

Mirrikh knew that. He reached for her hand and pulled her close to him as they fell.

“Wood Style:” Kakashi knew that voice but raced for the edge of the cliff. Yamato would catch him. “Great Forest Jutsu!” 

Several squared off trees burst through the cliff side wrapped around each other then reached for Kakashi as he jumped.

“Alpha!” He shouted as he saw Mirrikh and Alpha hit the water. They sunk below the surface. He moved his headband and stared at the water. He searched during the few seconds he had been brought back up to the top of the cliff. The tree branches set him down on the top of the cliff and pulled back to Yamato who watched and knelt by the edge. “Kakashi senpai,” Yamato grabbed his shoulder. “I won’t let you jump off again.”

“Kakashi sensei!” Sakura shouted and pulled him away from the cliff. “Sorry!” She yelled as he hit the tree really hard. “Are you okay?”

“How did you get here so fast, Yamato?” Gai asked as the rest of their rescue team arrived.

Yamato looked at the tree. “There was another one of these that we passed on the way over here with the same energy. I’m glad my theory worked.” He smiled and looked down at Kakashi. Sakura started to heal where Alpha had pinned him with tree branches. “I wasn’t familiar with it so I went to look at it but when I touched it I saw this cliff side and heard Kakashi.”

“That’s a fast way to travel,” Gai commented.

“It really is,” Yamato looked at the tree and then his hands. Could he do that again if he ever needed to? Travel through trees as himself and not just use a clone to do it.

Kakashi remained quiet but patted Pakkun and Biscuit when they ran over to him.

“We were right to assume you’d need help,” Pakkun commented and closed one eye as Kakashi patted his head. 

“What happened?” Sakura questioned. “Why did you jump off the cliff?”

Gai squatted down to his face. “It was that woman wasn’t it?” 

Kakashi nodded and stared at his right hand. “Yeah,”

“The woman who left the village after sunset?” Sakura asked. “You know her?” Her voice hardened. “How?”

He refused to make eye contact. “We met earlier today. Then again when Lady Tsunade invited me to drink with them.”

“And then you got drunk and she probably took you home, right?” Yamato asked as he put it together.

Kakashi nodded.

Sakura looked at him, “She killed Danzo, Kakashi.”

He nodded, “I know.”

“How did she get away from Intel?” Yamato asked. “And the Anbu?” He sounded completely confused when he asked the second question. "And the front gates?" His question trailed off. 

“Lady Tsunade told them not to pursue.” Sakura remembered when Lady Tsunade gave the order in her office suddenly during her last mission's report. “Why would she do that?”

“From the look of it, she only intended to kill Danzo from the start,” Yamato analyzed. “But how would she have known the interior of the Anbu tower to find him?”

“How did she kill Danzo?” Kakashi interrupted Yamato. “He shouldn’t have been easy to kill. There’s anbu everywhere, an entire shinobi village, the entire Foundation… Someone would’ve done something… right?”

“It doesn’t make sense.” Yamato agreed.

“By the time we get back, they’ll have more information.” Sakura commented as she stood up. She held her hand out for Kakashi.

He stood up slowly with Sakura's help and glanced at the cliff but followed the group.

Gai walked beside Kakashi. “You spent more time with her than anyone else in the village,” He lowered his voice. “Intel may want to talk to you in depth.”

Kakashi nodded. He didn’t know why her target was Danzo, though. But he had believed her story. He assumed they’d hunt her down.

If she was alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is supposed to be drawn out and dramatic and I feel like it got there. However, I've been working, plotting and rewriting this scene for two months and only the vague plot of the scene made it to the final cut. What I'm posting isn't at all what I drafted, however I'm very happy with it. 
> 
> This is the first chapter that hints at Alpha's true power, which, ironically, isn't showcased here. 
> 
> Also I've never written Black Alpha before but personifying her dark side was really fun to do. 
> 
> fun fact: There's a line from Lord of the Rings in this chapter that inspired the real plot point from Alpha's novel series when her son died.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is welcome. I’m used to writing Alpha in first person so hopefully the third person pov works. She’s the protagonist of my scifi novel series so at least there’s a decent amount of background but when I say overpowered, I’m serious about it. Let me know if something is confusing so I can explain it in a later update.


End file.
